Bt187m earmarked for Ebola cases

Yongyuth, who is also president of a national committee for prevention and preparedness against the transmission of disease, said the panel agreed yesterday to the funding to prevent a possible Ebola outbreak.
The budget is part of the Bt3-billion already earmarked for a long-term plan to prepare for all types of disease. However, the Budget Bureau would have to assess the urgent request before it is put to Cabinet for approval.
Dr Sophon Mekthon, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said the budget would be used to fund lab tests, risk-management for health staff and lab chemicals. The budget does not include building a Level 4 bio-safety laboratory.
Dr Sophon said six new laboratories would be set up around the country, on top of two that are already in place. Three of the labs would be located in medical schools in Bangkok, including the Faculties of Medicine at Mahidol University, Ramathibodi and Phra-mongkutklao Hospitals. The three others would be at Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Prince of Songkhla universities.
Meanwhile, initial feedback on the “success” of antibodies against Ebola developed by Thai researchers at Siriraj Hospital is expected later this month.
Four researchers from Siriraj are set to deliver Ebola antibodies to a Level 4 bio-safety laboratory in the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the US on November 18.The delegation will be led by Prof Dr Wanpen Chaicumpa, and will include research team leader Prof Dr Ruengpung Sutthent along with two other researchers.
 If the antibodies are effective and safe, they may be tried out on patients in west Africa.