DRC ebola epidemic: mass vaccination rolls out as death toll rises

Mass vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo in an attempt to stem the Ebola epidemic that has already claimed at least 75 lives.

During the vaccination, thousands of people received doses as well as new drugs tested in the Beni region of North Kivu province.

This region is one of the most unstable and deadly in the country. And instability does not always facilitate work by medical teams.

“It must be said that there are many challenges compared to other previous epidemics. Here community movements are very intense, in a security context that does not allow teams to deploy at all times”, said ebola mission Coordinator, Dr. Justus Nsio.

WHO confirms Ebola case of doctor in DR Congo, says its ‘a dreaded scenario’

In addition to the use of “MAb 114” and targeted vaccination, four other additional experimental therapeutic molecules have been approved by the health authorities to control the disease.

Tarik Jasarevic is spokesperson for the WHO.

“For the first time in an Ebola epidemic, we are using treatments available to us. For the moment, about ten patients have received two of the five treatments that have been authorised by the national authorities’‘, Jasarevic said.

According to the World Health Organization, the tenth outbreak declared on 1 August in North Kivu province crossed rebel lines, a scenario that health and humanitarian workers “feared”.

In July, 33 violent civilian deaths were recorded in North Kivu, according to the security barometer and published by Human Rights Watch and the Congo Research Group at the New York University.