Clinical trials of experimental Ebola treatment will start next month in West Africa as the regional death toll from the deadly virus surpasses 5,000 . Doctors Without Borders will conduct trials at three treatment centers in Guinea and Liberia , the medical aid agency announced Thursday . One trial will treat infected patients with the antiviral drug brincidofovir at a medical center in the Liberian capital of Monrovia . In a second trial , patients will get the antiviral drug Favipiravir in the southern town of Gueckedou in Guinea . A third trial in the Guinean capital of Conakry will focus on giving patients blood transfusions from Ebola survivors , a method recommended by the World Health Organization . There is currently no cure or vaccine for Ebola , which has killed thousands in Liberia , Guinea and Sierra Leone -- the three nations most affected . Clinical trials led by three research groups will focus on finding an effective therapy against the disease . `` This is an unprecedented international partnership which represents hope for patients to finally get a real treatment against a disease that today kills between 50 and 80 % of those infected , '' said Dr. Annick Antierens of Doctors Without Borders . First trial . While the use of brincidofovir will be a first for Liberia , this is not the first time the drug has been used to fight the virus . The first Ebola patient in the United States , Thomas Eric Duncan , got brincidofovir at Texas Health Presbyterian , where he was treated after arrival from Liberia in September . He died last month . NBC cameraman Ashoka Mukpo , who contracted the virus in Liberia and was airlifted to the United States for treatment , got the drug as well . He was discharged from a Nebraska hospital last month . Second trial . In Guinea , patients will get the same treatment given to Spanish nurse 's aide Teresa Romero Ramos , who took Favipiravir . She survived . Blood transfusions . In the Guinean capital , patients will get transfusions from survivors . Blood from survivors , referred to as convalescent serum , is said to have antibodies that can fight the deadly virus . Though unproven , the treatment has provided some promise . `` Studies suggest blood transfusions from survivors might prevent or treat Ebola virus infection in others , but the results of the studies are still difficult to interpret , '' the WHO said . `` It is not known whether antibodies in the plasma of survivors are sufficient to treat or prevent the disease . More research is needed . '' Convalescent serum was used to treat American aid worker Rick Sacra , who was hospitalized in Omaha and got blood from Kent Brantly , a fellow American who survived Ebola . Both got infected when they were helping patients in Liberia . Fears of an outbreak in Mali . The tests come amid fears that Mali has not combated the deadly virus . Four people have died of Ebola in Mali , the WHO said . A nurse died at a hospital in the Malian capital of Bamako , the health ministry said Wednesday . The first victim , a 2-year-old girl , died last month . The nation was optimistic it had beaten the virus , but the new fatalities have raised fears of another outbreak . The hospital in Bamako is under quarantine . The toddler 's case is not linked to the new cases , according to the WHO . West Africa tolls . Ebola has killed at least 5,160 people and infected nearly 14,098 , mostly in the three nations , the World Health Organization said in its latest report . All Ebola patients in the United States have been discharged from hospital .
Doctors Without Borders will conduct trials in Guinea and Liberia . There is currently no cure or vaccine for malaria . ` ` This is an unprecedented international partnership , '' medical aid agency says .