Medical and science experts have met in Melbourne for an annual summit looking at the role Australia can play in fighting disease outbreaks and the global health system response to crises, like Ebola.
The comments come as the World Health Organisation says a serum to treat those infected with the deadly virus could be available within weeks.
Barbara McPake from the Nossal Institute Global Health says it's likely the odd case of Ebola will merge in Australia. But she stressed there is no reason for public concern because the likelihood of transmission would be low.
"Australia has a very strong health system and it's not actually a very difficult disease to control. The symptoms of disease and infectivity emerge at the same time. So, unlike HIV/AIDS, where somebody can be infectious but not know it and can infect a lot of people, with Ebola that's not the case. As soon as you have symptoms, you can be identified, you can be isolated,” she said.
Serum could be available soon
In perhaps the most hopeful sign of a breakthrough so far, the WHO has announced that a serum, derived from the blood of survivors of Ebola, could be available soon.
When a patient is cured of Ebola their body builds a resistance, or immunity to it. They then have antibodies, protective proteins the body creates in response to the presence of a foreign substance, which can attack the virus should they be infected later.
Doctors hope to take samples of the survivor's blood and turn that into a serum to treat those infected with Ebola.
The WHO's Assistant Director General for Health Information and Systems, Dr Marie Paule Kieny said measures are already in place in the worst affected countries to ensure the collection of blood is safe.
"In terms of the serum, and the collection of serum, there are partnerships which are starting to be put in place to have capacity in the three countries to safely extract plasma and make preparations that can be used in the treatment of infected patients."
She said this should be ready soon and treatment will begin in Liberia, but plans are also in place to set up facilities in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
"The partnership which is moving the quickest will be in Liberia where we hope that in the coming weeks there will be facilities set up to collect the blood, treat the blood and be able to process it for use," Dr Kieny said.
Call for better response from Australia
Meanwhile, 12 aid groups in Australia have called on the federal government to step up its response to the crisis in west Africa.
Australia has contributed $18 million to various aid agencies to help tackle Ebola, but so far has ruled out sending personnel.
Dr Newton-Howes, CEO of Care Australia, says Australia’s contribution doesn't go far enough.
"The international community collectively has failed to stem the spread of this deadly disease and it's time to do more. We need a lot more. And there's need for further funding and there's a need for more equipment and there's a need for trained personnel,” said Dr Newton-Howes
The virus has killed more than 4,500 people in west Africa this year, with Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone the worst hit.
Smaller outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal have been contained.
Share
