Ebola vaccine for Zaire strain to be used in DRC

Africa CDC said it will use a vaccine developed for the Zaire Ebola strain to help counter the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Bundibugyo variant has killed more than 1,800 people.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said the vaccine would be offered in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu. Its director general, Jean Kaseya, said people vaccinated against the Zaire strain had shown symptoms but that there had been “zero death among people who are vaccinated,” which he said showed a level of protection.

The outbreak has caused nearly 4,000 confirmed cases since authorities officially declared it on May 15. The Bundibugyo variant has spread across five provinces in the country’s east and northeast.

Kaseya did not say how many vaccine doses were available. He also said Africa CDC would expand the use of remdesivir, citing Uganda’s recent response to Ebola.

Uganda announced in mid-July that it no longer had active Ebola cases. Its health ministry said it had recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, while all other patients had recovered.