Ebola Medication – Possible, but Disputed

According to the World Health Organization, WHO for short, the current Ebola virus epidemic has already claimed the lives of over 2000 people in Africa; the disease has a fatality rate of about 80 percent. An experimental medication already exists that only the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology in Aachen could manufacture in all of Europe. However the medication is disputed and has not been officially approved.

Thus, should this medication be used in the current emergency, as Professor Fischer demands, even before it is approved, administered with the chance to save lives, or must we adhere to the official approval with tests and a clearance?

The Ebola virus illustrates a big medical-ethical problem, which will be discussed with experts and attendees at the upcoming "Uni at City Hall" event, scheduled to take place on October 30, 2014. Panelists are RWTH professors Rainer Fischer of the Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Dominik Groß of the Department of the History and Ethics of Medicine; WDR Bettina Staubitz will moderate the discussion, with opportunities for questions from the audience.

The event will commence at 7.30pm at Coronation Hall ("Krönungssaal"), Aachen City Hall, Markt; entrance is free of charge. Registration is not required.