Ebola vaccine being tested in DR Congo

BUNIA, DR Congo

A healthcare worker holds up a vial of the Ervebo vaccine at an Ebola vaccination center in Bunia. (AP Photo)

Health workers in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo badly hit by a deadly Ebola outbreak launched a test vaccination program on Sept. 19 to see if jabs designed for a different strain of the virus could prove effective in this case.

The operation, backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Doctors Without Borders (MSF), will see 20,000 frontline health personnel given the Ervebo vaccination in the Ituri and North-Kivu provinces, in a study lasting up to a year.

The current Ebola epidemic in the DR Congo has killed 3,639 people out of 7,541 confirmed cases, according to the latest figures from the country’s authorities, with a fatality rate of 48.3 percent.

It is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment.

The vaccination being rolled out as of this weekend was developed for use against the Zaire strain, and the study will determine how effective it might be against the Bundibugyo strain.

“We don’t know to what degree it might be effective against the Bundibugyo strain,” said Steve Ahuka, a Congolese official who is part of the health task force against the Ebola outbreak.

“It might offer a certain level of cross-protection against the Bundibugyo virus,” said Nana Mimbu, an MSF research coordinator.

While WHO officials have cited “encouraging signs” that transmission may be slowing, MSF has warned that there was no clear evidence that the epidemic was coming under control.