Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

AFRICA

Denmark makes massive new Ebola contribution

An additional 115 million kroner, health personnel and a military supply ship are among the new commitments Denmark has made to help contain the Ebola epidemic.

Published: 23 October 2014 15:02 CEST
Denmark makes massive new Ebola contribution
A Liberian health worker holds a baby infected with the Ebola virus on October 18th at the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center in Monrovia. Photo: Zoom Dosso/Scanpix
For the second time in as many days, Denmark on Wednesday announced an increased contribution to the fight against the Ebola epidemic in west Africa.
 
Wednesday’s announcement was the significantly larger of the two, with Trade and Development Minister Mogens Jensen saying that Denmark will provide an additional 115 million kroner ($19.5 million), make medical workers available and supply a camp to accommodate international health personnel in Sierra Leone.
 
“From the Danish side, we have committed a quick and massive effort to contain the epidemic through a comprehensive approach. We can help save thousands of lives in west Africa and contribute to keeping the epidemic under control,” Jensen said in a statement. 
 
 
The announcement came just one day after Denmark committed an additional ten million kroner ($1.7 million) to Ghana’s regional efforts to combat Ebola. 
 
The new donation includes 30 million kroner ($5.1 million) in the form of contributions to a base camp and training facilities for up to 60 international health workers, 30 million kroner each to the UN’s Ebola trust fund and the World Bank’s Ebola fund, ten million kroner to cover the costs of sending Danish health workers to affected areas and 4.8 million kroner ($816,000) to the WHO’s efforts in Mali. 
 
On top of that, the Defence Ministry will contribute ten million kroner of its budget to send a Danish transport ship stocked with emergency materials. 
 
“I’m proud that the Defence and the Danish Emergency Management Agency are contributing with talented experts who can help to fight the epidemic and save lives,” Defence Minister Nicolai Wammen said in a statement. 
 
With the new contributions, Denmark has now given a total of 190 million kroner to the efforts to contain Ebola in west Africa, where it is estimated to have claimed some 4,500 lives. 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

EBOLA

Ebola tests sold to Denmark recalled

The US Food and Drug Administration said that Ebola kits sent to Denmark and other countries could result in "life-threatening" false positives.

Published: 24 April 2015 08:07 CEST
Ebola tests sold to Denmark recalled
Photo: Colourbox
US regulators have issued an international recall for a 10-minute Ebola blood test made by a California-based company, saying it has not been proven to work and could put lives at risk.
 
"A recall has been issued for the LuSys Laboratories, Inc., Ebola Virus One-Step Test Kits because the FDA has not cleared or approved the kits for use or sale," said the Food and Drug Administration in a statement emailed to reporters on Thursday.
 
"The results obtained from these test kits have not demonstrated to be accurate and should not be used as in vitro diagnostic tests for Ebola infection."
 
The recall was initially issued in mid-March and applies to test kits exported to Denmark, Sierra Leone and Canada between October 2014 and January 2015.
 
The FDA did not say how many tests were sent out.
 
The recall is described as a Class I, "the most serious type of recall and involve(s) situations in which there is a reasonable probability that use of these products will cause serious adverse health consequences or death," the FDA said.
 
"A false positive result may be life-threatening by potentially placing the patient in an isolation cohort with Ebola-infected patients."
 
Contacted by AFP, a company representative in San Diego said early trials have shown the test to be 86 percent accurate.
 
The problem with the FDA came down to a labeling error, he said. The equipment had not been properly labeled "for research purposes only."
SHOW COMMENTS