Apparently, the lack of Ebola virus samples is due to growing caution by regulators and transport companies in handling Ebola specimen. The limited resource from West Africa is also another reason according to researchers.
Reuters have contacted ten scientists that are currently working on Ebola and they all said they were unable to find any Ebola virus sample.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, transporting a live specimen of the Ebola virus is challenging. So far, only Tulane University got a sample of the virus from the CDC.
As scientists tries to understand the Ebola virus, they need to have constant supply of the said virus. If there are any changes, they need to know it so they can incorporate it with the vaccine or cure that they are trying to make. Apparently, with the short of supply of live specimen, it means delays on the development of vaccine and cure as well.
One research institution that is in need of a live specimen of Ebola virus is microbiologists and infectious disease exper t Dr. Charles Chiu. Dr. Chiu is currently trying to develop a new genetic test that aims to detect Ebola infection prior to the development of the symptoms.
Another individual working on developing a cure against Ebola is Erica Ollmann Saphire of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. She is one of the developers of ZMapp. She is continuously working on finding a cure for Ebola and she has been requesting for a special cell from Ebola survivors but hasn't received any response yet.
The CDC promised that it will do its best to acquire live specimens in a matter of weeks according to CDC spokesman Tom Skinner.
