DR Congo Ebola outbreak spreads to Mbandaka city

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

The Ebola outbreak in Congo has spread from the countryside into a city, prompting fears that the disease will be increasingly difficult to control.

Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga confirmed a case in Mbandaka, a city of a million people about 130km (80 miles) from the area where the first cases were confirmed earlier this month.

The city is a major transportation hub with routes to the capital Kinshasa.

Forty-two people have now been infected and 23 people are known to have died.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-44150762

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But the hopeful news:

Congo receives first doses of Ebola vaccine amid outbreak

The first batch of 4,000 experimental Ebola vaccines to combat an outbreak suspected of killing 23 people arrived in Congo’s capital Kinshasa on Wednesday.

The Health Ministry said vaccinations would start at the weekend, 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.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-ebola/congo-receives-first-doses-of-ebola-vaccine-amid-outbreak-idUSKCN1IH1AV

[Princess Turandot]

2. Merck now has enough vaccine prepared to yield 300,000 doses..

Thank goodness that WHO et al & Merck were preparing for this all along. (I won't state the obvious in re: Trump.) Hopefully Mbandaka has more health treatment infrastructure than the West African countries previously struck did, since it's a good sized city.

From 5/14: A Merck spokesperson said the company is working with WHO and MSF to introduce the vaccine, adding that thousands of shots are ready to go, with "4,300 doses of the investigational V920 vaccine prepositioned with the WHO in Geneva to support rapid deployment to the outbreak area."

The company's own stockpile contains more than 300,000 emergency use dose equivalents, she said....

Under the ring vaccination approach, after an Ebola case is recorded health workers vaccinate anyone who might have interacted with the infected person, such as family members and their contacts.. Merck's shot demonstrated 100% efficacy in a previous phase 3 ring vaccination study.

Healthcare workers and others who could encounter the virus will also be vaccinated as part of the outbreak response. Last month, WHO expert advisers on vaccination met and recommended that the shot be deployed under a ring vaccination strategy should an outbreak emerge.

https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/merck-s-investigational-ebola-vaccine-set-for-use-against-deadly-new-ebola-outbreak-congo

[nitpicker]

3. Link to DW

http://www.dw.com/en/dr-congo-warns-of-ebola-outbreak-in-major-city-of-mbandaka/a-43818358

[FSogol]

4. Hope that vaccine works. PS. "Dr Congo Ebola" seems like a strange name. n/t

[heaven05]

5. not going away nt

[Maeve]

6. Heard about the new vaccine on the radio

It has passed animal and human trials and appears very effective--here's hoping!