African health authorities say they would start using a vaccine for the prior Zaire ebolavirus strain to treat the current outbreak involving a different, fast spreading strain known as Bundibugyo. The ongoing outbreak is centered in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The director general of the African Centres for Disease Control, or Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, told reporters in a videoconference on Thursday that there was evidence of the vaccine eliminating deaths, if not symptoms, in the test cases conducted so far.
The Africa CDC and the World Health Organization also plan to launch research checking for a possible mutation or some other abnormality in the current outbreak, as the virus spreads at a rate six to eight times faster than any past outbreak on record.
The warnings come amid continued strikes and protests in the hardest-hit regions by some medical staff complaining either of non-payment or of inadequate pay and conditions. Medics trying to contain the virus are noting an unusually high rate of infectionImage: Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne/AP Photo/dpa/picture alliance
What did Kaseya say about the speed of the spread?
