The vaccination campaign against the Ebola virus began Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, as authorities are trying to contain the first resurgence of the virus in the country since the worst global epidemic in 2013-2016.
The vaccination was launched in Gouecke, a rural community in N’Zerekore prefecture, where the first cases were detected on February 14, WHO said, adding that the launch began with the vaccination of health workers.
Ebola vaccination campaign strategy
Vaccination uses the ‘ring strategy’ where all people who have been in contact with a confirmed Ebola patient receive the vaccine, as well as front-line workers and health workers,” the WHO said in a statement.
The resurgence of the virus, which causes severe haemorrhage and organ failure and spreads through contact with body fluids, has alarmed governments in the region and international health organizations, which fear a major epidemic could overwhelm health infrastructures already facing a pandemic.
The start of Ebola vaccination helps contain the situation.
The last time Guinea faced an Ebola epidemic, vaccines were still under development (…) Thanks to the experience and expertise it has acquired, combined with safe and effective vaccines, Guinea has the tools and know-how to respond to this epidemic.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – Director General of WHO
Guinea recorded four confirmed cases and four probable cases, including five deaths, in the first resurgence of the Ebola virus since the 2013-2016 epidemic that killed 11,300 people in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
The WHO said in the statement that genome sequencing is underway at the Institut Pasteur in Senegal to identify the strain of Ebola virus.
Reuters
