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Russia has declared that Russian scientists have created a new vaccine for the new strain of Ebola virus connecteRussia has declared that Russian scientists have created a new vaccine for the new strain of Ebola virus connected to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).d to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The Russian Embassy in South Africa took to social media ‘X’ on Tuesday (local time) and said, “Russian scientists have developed a vaccine against a new Ebola strain, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko announced. According to the Russian scientists, the vaccine may also protect against the rare Bundibugyo strain linked to the outbreak in the DRC.”
Earlier on May 25, the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak in the DRC has caused 220 suspected deaths, as health officials struggle to catch up with the epidemic.
While 101 confirmed cases and 10 confirmed deaths have been recorded, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said the true scale is far larger.
“There are now more than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths,” Tedros had said at the Virtual Ministerial Briefing on the Bundibugyo Ebola Outbreak on Monday.
On May 17, the epidemic was declared a public health emergency of worldwide concern. It has already expanded to Uganda, where there have been five confirmed cases and one fatality.
On Tuesday, DR Congo Health Minister Roger Kamba declared that the Ebola outbreak was still in its early stages, but infections and deaths were on the rise.
Kamba told a press conference that health authorities had identified approximately 1,000 suspected cases in affected areas, 101 of which tested positive.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which Kamba described as less fatal than the Zaire strain but still worrisome if infection rates rise. There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo Ebola.
According to the World Health Organization, Ebola disease is a severe, often fatal sickness that affects humans and other primates.
The virus is transmitted to humans by wild animals (such as fruit bats, porcupines, and non-human primates), and then spreads in the human population through direct contact with infected people’s blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids, as well as surfaces and materials contaminated with these fluids (e.g., bedding, clothing).
The average Ebola disease case mortality rate is approximately 50%. Case mortality rates have ranged from 25 to 90 percent in previous epidemics.
The first Ebola outbreaks took place in rural settlements in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests.
The Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa from 2014 to 2016 was the largest and most complex since the virus’s discovery in 1976. This outbreak had more cases and deaths than the others combined. It also spread between countries, beginning in Guinea and then across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Source: IANS
