TOKYO -- Fujifilm Holdings' influenza drug Avigan is now being used to treat Ebola patients in Spain and Norway, in addition to France and Germany.

Avigan has been approved in Japan as an influenza treatment. Its efficacy on Ebola is unknown, but some animal and other experiments suggest it may be effective. With no Ebola treatment available yet, a United Nations panel decided that unregistered drugs should be offered based on patient consent.

In France, a female nurse who contracted Ebola in Liberia has recovered and left the hospital after receiving multiple experimental treatments, including Avigan.

Most recently, in Spain and Norway, a female nurse and doctor have also been treated with Avigan.

Fujifilm is readying its inventory of Avigan -- enough to treat over 20,000 patients -- for shipment in Japan and abroad, if needed.

In the three most affected West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, an estimated 8,011 people have contracted the virus, and 3,857 have died, according to the World Health Organization.

The government of Guinea is moving to start clinical trials in November to verify the effectiveness of Avigan for Ebola, with support from France.

(Nikkei)