The Democratic Republic of Congo began vaccinating frontline health workers against Ebola on Saturday, as the death toll from the country’s fastest-growing outbreak on record climbed past 3,600.
The rollout started in Bunia, capital of the northeastern Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, and will extend to North Kivu province, where infections have been rising sharply. Health authorities said 50,000 frontline workers are set to receive the Ervebo vaccine, with 20,000 of them enrolled in a one-year clinical study to assess how well the shot works against the strain driving the current epidemic.
Congolese authorities said the outbreak has infected 7,541 people and killed 3,639 since May, with 1,823 recoveries recorded. The operation is backed by the World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a different Ebola species from the Zaire strain that Ervebo was developed and licensed to protect against. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, and WHO officials say it remains unclear how much protection Ervebo will provide. Laboratory and animal data have suggested some possible cross-protection, but this has not been confirmed in humans.
Ituri provincial governor Gaby Kasongo Mulumba said health workers in the region were especially exposed to the virus and central to the outbreak response. Some medical staff in the area have said the vaccine was made mandatory for them.
Separate trials of three candidate vaccines targeting the Bundibugyo strain are expected to begin in October or November, according to the WHO.
