Ethical Considerations for Use of Unregistered Interventions for Ebola Virus Disease
2014
This report summarizes a World Health Organization (WHO) consultation with an advisory panel to consider and assess ethical implications for using unregistered interventions for Ebola virus disease. These unregistered interventions have shown promising results in the laboratory and in animal models but that have not been evaluated for safety and efficacy in humans. The members of the panel unanimously concluded that it would be acceptable to use unregistered interventions as potential treatments for prevention, given certain conditions. Key parts of the ethical criteria that makes it acceptable include transparency about all aspects of care, fair distribution in the face of scarcity, promotion of cosmopolitan solidarity, informed consent, freedom of choice, confidentiality, respect for the person, and preservation of dignity and involvement of the community. The panel also discussed moral obligations of physicians and other clinical contexts for evaluating the safety and efficacy of these investigatory interventions.
Ethical Considerations for Use of Unregistered Interventions for Ebola Virus Disease
Source:
Ethical Considerations for Use of Unregistered Interventions for Ebola Virus Disease: Report of an Advisory Panel to WHO. World Health Organization 2014. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/130997.