Medical teams have started using an experimental vaccine to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The same vaccine, known as rVSV-ZEBOV, helped to end the spread of Ebola in another part of the country just weeks earlier. The World Health Organization has 3,200 vaccines and is requesting more.
The latest outbreak is in North Kivu province, a war-torn region that borders Uganda and Rwanda. At least 44 cases have been reported, and 36 people have died.
“Ebola is aggressive,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general. “We must respond more aggressively. Beginning the vaccination so quickly is a key early step.”
Healthcare workers are using a strategy known as “ring vaccination,” in which they track down different contacts with people who fell ill and vaccinating them and their contacts.
The virus is spread through direct contact with people who are infected, even after the person has died. It causes body aches, bleeding, vomiting, and diarrhea. It also can be transmitted through sex and has been found in studies to remain in semen for more than two years.
