WHO / EBOLA PRESSER

Professor Peter Piot, who was part of the team that discovered the Ebola virus in 1976,  said that information sharing is “absolutely crucial” in the containment of the virus. A group of scientists with expertise in Ebola control will work with the World Health Organization (WHO) to review the current science and information emerging from the countries experiencing epidemics of Ebola virus disease. WHO

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:03:01
• Production Date: 7 October 2014
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - WHO
• Subject Topical: DISEASE PREVENTION; DISEASE CONTROL; DISEASES
• Geographic Subject: WEST AFRICA
• MAMS Id: 1193926

Description

STORY: WHO / EBOLA PRESSER
TRT: 3.01
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 7 OCTOBER 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, press room
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Peter Piot, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine:
“Basically, what we are saying is that, one, that’s absolutely crucial that all scientists and all institutions that work in this field share this information. That may sound absolutely self-evident but it’s not always happening. And so that everybody has access to information about the clinical aspects also the various isolates, which may be different or not, and learn from that; that we share information about the clinical trials, the vaccine trial. So that the first one; secondly, that we need to make sure that there are no bureaucratic obstacles to the development of vaccines and of new therapies, while of course, respecting fully the strictest ethical standards for doing this.”
3. Med shot, press room
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Peter Piot, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine:
“We feel strongly that the social sciences are as important as biomedical sciences here. Because if we have this mega-epidemic, unprecedented epidemic, of Ebola in West-Africa, it is in the first place because of behaviours, of the fact the response was delayed, of beliefs in disease causation, in the way funerals are organised and so on. So these are local beliefs, customs and so on and we need to understand them fully in order to make sure that we have the best possible interventions.”
5. Close up, journalist
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Peter Piot, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine:
“We should also have the long term in mind because there will be other epidemics of Ebola, there is no doubt about that. There will be other epidemics of Marburg, there are a few cases now in Uganda there was an Ebola epidemic in DRC. So it will pop out again, so we must make sure that when there is the next outbreak that we don’t have to start from scratch and that we have much better science that we have drugs, that we have vaccines, that we understand the behaviours and the social science.”
7. Close up, journalist
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Peter Piot, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine:
“Now that there are different research initiatives that are being put in place it’s important to make sure that they are done in a coherent way, that they all are trying to help with the current response efforts, and also that we are monitoring from a scientific perspective whether what we are doing has an impact that it is the best possible way of spending our resources.”
9. Close up, journalist

Storyline

Professor Peter Piot, who was part of the team that discovered the Ebola virus in 1976, today (7 Oct) said that information sharing is “absolutely crucial” in the containment of the virus.

Professor Piot, speaking at a press conference at the World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters in Geneva, said that all scientists and all institutions that work in this field must share information “about the clinical aspects also the various isolates, which may be different or not, and learn from that.”

Secondly, he said, “we need to make sure that there are no bureaucratic obstacles to the development of vaccines and of new therapies, while of course, respecting fully the strictest ethical standards for doing this.”

Piot said “social sciences are as important as biomedical sciences” in the containment of Ebola. He said the reason for this “mega-epidemic, unprecedented epidemic” of Ebola in West-Africa is “in the first place because of behaviours, of the fact the response was delayed, of beliefs in disease causation, in the way funerals are organised and so on.”

Piot, who is a Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said “we should also have the long term in mind because there will be other epidemics of Ebola, there is no doubt about that. There will be other epidemics of Marburg, there are a few cases now in Uganda there was an Ebola epidemic in DRC. So it will pop out again, so we must make sure that when there is the next outbreak that we don’t have to start from scratch and that we have much better science that we have drugs, that we have vaccines, that we understand the behaviours and the social science.”

He said “now that there are different research initiatives that are being put in place it’s important to make sure that they are done in a coherent way, that they all are trying to help with the current response efforts, and also that we are monitoring from a scientific perspective whether what we are doing has an impact that it is the best possible way of spending our resources.”

WHO will convene an informal consultation on how science can inform our response to Ebola virus disease. A group of scientists with expertise in Ebola control will work with WHO to review the current science and information emerging from the countries experiencing epidemics of Ebola virus disease.