The Federal Ministry of Research is to provide additional funding of more than five million euros for research into Ebola. Reliable diagnostic techniques and treatment are to be developed as swiftly as possible.
The projects benefitting from this funding are part of international activities to tackle the most pressing aspects of the problem. They are endeavouring to develop prophylaxis, run clinical tests of candidate vaccines and elaborate strategies to control the epidemic.
The strategies are to be improved by mobile data transmission in real time. This should make it possible to better monitor the spread of the epidemic in the affected countries, and enable more targeted intervention.
"We urgently need reliable diagnostic techniques and treatments. They must be developed at top speed. These are the projects that we are now launching," said Federal Research Minister Johanna Wanka.
Under the aegis of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), which was founded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in 2010, research is already ongoing into Ebola in the Emerging Infections Unit. At DZIF scientists from the university and non-university sectors cooperate closely.
The Federal Ministry of Health is also supporting the research in the field of Ebola conducted at the German Center for Infection Research. From 2014 to 2017 it is promoting two projects to tackle the disease: one clinical study of a vaccine within the framework of the German Center for Infection Research, and research conducted by the Paul Ehrlich Institute which aims to develop treatment using hyper-immune plasma from survivors.
At the meeting on Monday in Luxembourg the EU minsters of foreign affairs agreed on coordinated action in the fight against Ebola. In response to a proposal made by Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier they decided to set up a pool of expert "white helmets". The Foreign Minister said that even now we must learn from our combined experience of dealing with the Ebola epidemic. "This crisis has demonstrated how important it is to establish a 'pool' of medical and logistics experts which could be deployed in the event of future crises," he said.
The EU ministers of foreign affairs also agreed to appoint a coordinator at European level within the next few days.
Only last week the German government provided another 84.7 million euros to fight Ebola, bringing German assistance to over 100 million euros.
The German Red Cross is still looking for volunteers to man its field hospitals in Liberia and Sierra Leone. To keep the facilities operating, still more qualified medical staff is needed.
With the Federal Minister of Health Hermann Gröhe and the German Medical Association, the German Red Cross launched an appeal on 25 September for medical staff to volunteer for the difficult mission in West Africa. More volunteers are still needed.
More than 3,000 Bundeswehr volunteers have come forward for an assignment in the areas affected by Ebola. Of them about 250 were found to be suitable on the basis of their health status and a number of other criteria. They are currently undergoing training. Forty volunteers already have all the vaccinations required, are in training, and will be able to fly out to West Africa at the start of November.
Germany is fully equipped to cope with any cases of infection. The country has seven special units trained and equipped to deal with life-threatening infectious diseases like Ebola. A total of 47 beds are currently available for immediate use. In these units Ebola patients can be treated round the clock in special isolation wards. A special system of airlocks and air circulation and filtration systems ensure that the virus cannot escape. Hospitals also have specially trained staff.
So far only three beds in the isolation wards have been needed. Currently one Ebola patient is being treated in Frankfurt. A patient treated in Hamburg has recovered and been released from hospital, while another patient treated in Leipzig has died. All three patients became infected in Africa. They were flown back in strict isolation to specialist units in Germany.
The Robert Koch Institute has no reports of new infections in Germany.
Although the World Health Organization has declared an "international public health emergency", the population of Germany is not at risk say the Robert Koch Institute and the Bernard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine. The international airports in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg and Munich are well equipped and prepared to deal with highly infectious diseases. Emergency plans are in place and infected individuals can be isolated immediately.