£2m boost for Ebola research but more is needed, says Wellcome

The Wellcome Trust has announced an emergency £2-million investment in Ebola vaccine research in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following calls for more support from the World Health Organization.

The money, which will be made available to the WHO and the DRC government, is an attempt to prevent further spread of the devastating virus in the country. Announcing the funding, Wellcome’s director Jeremy Farrar said the virus had “taken hold in an incredibly challenging region”.

“The outbreak is in danger of spreading within the DRC, and if the international community doesn’t step up their support, there is real risk that this outbreak will get out of control, cross borders and take off as it did in the West African epidemic where over 11,000 people died,” he said.