Africa CDC plans to use a vaccine against another strain of Ebola in the DRC
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) plans to use a vaccine developed against the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus during the Bundibugyo strain outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kasaya stated that limited testing indicated no deaths among vaccinated individuals, although they did exhibit symptoms of the disease.
According to Kaseya, this indicates a certain level of protection that the available vaccine may provide. At the same time, there are no approved vaccines or treatments specifically for the Bundibugyo strain. Africa CDC also plans to expand the use of the antiviral drug remdesivir in affected areas, according to Deutsche Welle.
According to the latest data available as of Tuesday, 3,973 cases of Ebola and 1,801 deaths from the disease have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The outbreak was declared in mid-May and has already become the second-largest in recorded history. Kaseya estimated that the current outbreak is causing deaths at a rate approximately six times faster than the largest Ebola outbreak in West Africa from 2014 to 2016.
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The WHO and Africa CDC are planning studies to investigate a possible virus mutation or other factors contributing to the unusual severity of the current outbreak. The number of health zones with reported cases has risen from nine in May to 51. According to Kasei, in the hardest-hit city of Bunia and the Ituri region, virtually everyone should be considered a potential contact.
In the hardest-hit areas, some healthcare workers are continuing to strike and protest over unpaid or insufficient wages and poor working conditions. Near Kinshasa, authorities are screening more than 300 passengers on a riverboat following the death of a passenger with symptoms similar to Ebola. The vessel was stopped in Maluku, where a mobile laboratory was deployed to conduct precautionary tests. Data on the number of vaccines and medications available for this remote region have not yet been specified; according to Africa CDC estimates, the initial rollout of the vaccination campaign will be relatively small.
