Kinshasa: African health authorities have announced the deployment of a vaccine initially developed for the Zaire ebolavirus strain in response to the current outbreak of a different strain, Bundibugyo, which is rapidly spreading in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to Deutsche Welle, Jean Kaseya, the director general of the African Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), revealed in a videoconference with reporters that the vaccine has demonstrated effectiveness in eliminating deaths, though not necessarily symptoms, in test cases conducted to date. The decision to use the Zaire ebolavirus vaccine as a stop-gap measure is an urgent response to the escalating situation.
In addition, Africa CDC, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, plans to undertake research to determine whether any mutations or abnormalities are present in the current outbreak. This investigation is crucial as the virus is spreading at an unprecedented rate, six to eight times faster than previous outbreaks recorded.