OUTBREAK
Health agency ready to deliver test vaccine to Ebola-hit region of DRC
The World Health Organisation says there is no licensed vaccine for the Ebola virus, but a promising candidate could be deployed within days
Geneva — An unlicensed Ebola vaccine could soon be tested in a remote region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) hit by an outbreak of the virus, the World Health Organisation says. There was no licensed vaccine for the Ebola virus, but a promising candidate vaccine could be deployed within a matter of days if the Congolese government gave its approval, the WHO said on Thursday. "The preparations are in place. We could potentially mount a campaign within around a week, given all of the conditions … are met," WHO health emergencies chief Peter Salama told reporters. Last week, the DRC declared an outbreak of the contagious disease, the eighth to date. So far, two cases of the virus have been confirmed in a laboratory, while 18 others are suspected in the remote Bas-Uele province, an equatorial forest zone near the Central African Republic. Three of those people have died. The first known case, a 39-year-old man, died on the way to hospital in Likati on April 22. A person ca...
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