CONGO
Scrambling For Containment
Aid workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo unveiled an experimental vaccine against the deadly Ebola virus Monday after reports began surfacing in April of at least 49 suspected new cases and at least 26 deaths, NPR reported.
The unlicensed drug has been fast-tracked for use, with 7,500 doses now available in Congo and another 8,000 on the way, according to the World Health Organization.
The vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, was initially tested during West Africa’s massive Ebola outbreak in 2015, in which more than 11,300 people died, mostly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. Its current distribution in Congo marks the first time the vaccine has been widely administered since then.
Medical workers said it’s being used to safeguard against another high-magnitude outbreak – four new cases have already been confirmed in the port city of Mbandaka, a sprawling urban center with more than 1 million inhabitants.
To prevent the spread of disease in close quarters, health workers and first responders, as well as funeral workers and those with close contact to the infected, have been prioritized for vaccination.
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