‘Tackling the Ebola Crisis - Experiences From the Frontline’ Café Science event on 14th September

Published On Tue 1 Sep 2015 by Grant Hill

A University of Dundee nurse will get the new series of Café Science events underway with a discussion about his experiences of helping to combat Ebola in Africa.

Dr Steve McSwiggan volunteered to travel to Liberia to work at an Ebola Treatment Unit, the largest field hospital ever set up, last year. He will recall his experiences, provide background to the current epidemic and share his thoughts on the global management of Ebola when he delivers his talk at Avery & Co on Monday 14th September.

Dr McSwiggan is a Senior Clinical Trials Manager in the Tayside Medical Science Centre, a partnership between the University and NHS Tayside. He went to Liberia late last year to help establish and deliver a clinical trial looking at the effectiveness of a drug to treat the disease.

Liberia was declared Ebola-free in May only for further outbreaks to occur. While there are currently no known cases in Liberia, widespread apprehension about whether more will occur in future remains.

“Over the past year, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone have experienced the largest and most complex outbreak of Ebola the world had ever seen,” said Dr McSwiggan. “The work we did was very challenging but it was also tremendously rewarding and I can only hope that our efforts will be helpful in finding treatments for Ebola.

“I was involved in establishing the clinical trial at the busiest Ebola treatment centre in Liberia, so I was very close to the sharp end of dealing with the outbreak. At the Café Science event I will discuss the challenges of trying to find potential treatments for Ebola, and my experiences of caring for patients in that environment.

“It is hard to imagine the death rate caused by Ebola, but it is the equivalent of working in an Accident & Emergency Unit here in the UK and seeing two out of every three patients who come in die soon after admission. The thing that impressed me most was the dedication of the local staff. They saw many of their colleagues die and knew they were at considerable risk themselves but continued to work on and had a tremendous impact in battling and containing Ebola in Liberia.”

Café Science was launched in January 2008, and has attracted more than 6000 visitors since then. The monthly events are informal discussions led by leading local researchers that allow members of the public the opportunity to learn more about the ground-breaking science at the Universities of Dundee, St Andrews and Abertay, the James Hutton Institute, and Dundee Science Centre.

‘Tackling the Ebola Crisis - Experiences From the Frontline’ takes place at Avery & Co from 7pm on Monday, 14th September. 

More information is available at www.cafesciencedundee.co.uk.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
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Mobile: 07854 953277
Email: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk