Health workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have begun receiving an Ebola vaccine as authorities respond to an outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain, which has killed at least 3,639 people since May.
The rollout began on Saturday in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, the epicentre of what has been described as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history. The campaign is backed by the World Health Organisation and Médecins Sans Frontières, known by its French initials MSF.
It will initially target health and other frontline workers in Ituri and North Kivu, where cases have been rising sharply. About 50,000 people are expected to receive the Ervebo vaccine.
Ervebo was developed for the more common Zaire strain of Ebola. Its effectiveness against the Bundibugyo virus will be monitored among 20,000 recipients for up to a year.
Steve Ahuka, a Congolese official involved in the health task force responding to the outbreak, said: “We don’t know to what degree it might be effective against the Bundibugyo strain.”
Clinical trials are continuing in an effort to find a licensed vaccine for the current outbreak, for which there is no licensed vaccine or proven treatment.
Dr Jeannot Elua, speaking at a health facility in Bunia, described the vaccine as “beneficial”. “We healthcare workers don’t really have a choice. We are going to receive it,” he told the Associated Press news agency.
Ituri’s provincial governor, Major-General Gaby Kasongo Mulumba, said health workers were “particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response”.
WHO experts have said early data, including findings from animal trials, suggested Ervebo could offer some protection against the current outbreak. The WHO said in August that 70,000 doses had been approved for use in the DRC.
The vaccine is being administered under a compassionate-use programme, which permits a medical product to be used in serious disease situations even when it has not been specifically approved for that purpose.
At least 7,541 people have been infected since May, while 1,823 have recovered, according to the latest figures from local authorities.
WHO officials have cited “encouraging signs” that transmission may be slowing. However, MSF warned on Friday that there was no clear evidence the epidemic was coming under control.
