DRC receives 70,000 Ebola vaccine doses as WHO ramps up response

Health authorities are accelerating their response to the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s history, announcing the deployment of 70,000 vaccine doses and committing millions to research aimed at identifying effective treatments for the rare Bundibugyo strain driving the crisis. The World Health Organization and its partners confirmed on Thursday that the doses of the Ervebo vaccine would be released immediately following a request from the Congolese government, while the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said it had allocated $4.17 million to four research projects to assess vaccine cross-protection.

The outbreak, which the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern in May, has spread across six provinces and infected more than 5,000 people, killing over 2,300, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Experts believe transmission began as early as February near the mining town of Mongbwalu, with the virus now spreading three times faster than the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak. The case fatality rate is 47.5% overall, rising to 70% in challenging areas like North Kivu province. Security...