Congo Receives First Doses of Ebola Vaccine Amid Outbreak

KINSHASA (Reuters) – The first batch of 4,000 experimental Ebola vaccines to combat an outbreak suspected to have killed 20 people arrived in Congo‘s capital Kinshasa on Wednesday.

That is the first time the vaccine would come into use since it was developed two years ago. The vaccine, developed by Merck and sent from Europe by the World Health Organization, is still not licensed but proved effective during limited trials in West Africa in the biggest ever outbreak of Ebola, which killed 11,300 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone from 2014-2016.

Health workers have recorded two confirmed cases, 22 probable cases and 17 suspected cases of Ebola in three health zones of Congo’s Equateur province, and identified 432 people who may have had contact with the disease.

Howden Medical Clinic