Congo-Kinshasa: Ebola - DRC Gets 70,000 Ervebo Vaccine Doses As Bundibugyo Outbreak Worsens

The World Health Organization announced on Thursday that the Ebola-stricken Democratic Republic of Congo would receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine. This vaccine is approved for protection against the Zaire strain of the virus, but not the strain currently spreading in the country. The Ervebo vaccine was released following a request from the DRC government, which has seen over 5,000 Ebola cases and more than 2,300 deaths since the outbreak began three months ago.

This outbreak is the deadliest in the country's history. The 70,000 doses include 20,000 for a clinical trial to assess the vaccine's impact on the Bundibugyo virus, which is the strain currently causing the outbreak, and 50,000 for frontline health workers. This allocation aligns with the current recommendations of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.

The 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC is believed to have been spreading for weeks before it was declared on May 15. The outbreak has affected regions in the north and east, where state presence is weak, health infrastructure is lacking, and armed groups have been active for decades. Ebola is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and causes a severe hemorrhagic fever.

It has resulted in over 15,000 deaths across Africa over the past 50 years. There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo virus strain responsible for the ongoing outbreak. Earlier this month, WHO vaccine experts recommended a full-scale human trial of the Ervebo vaccine to determine if it provides cross-protection against the Bundibugyo strain.

While the Ervebo vaccine has proven safe and effective against the more common Zaire strain, early data, including animal trials, suggests it may offer some protection against the Bundibugyo strain as well.