The World Health Organization on Friday said it plans on introducing new Ebola vaccines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The country is still battling the deadly Ebola virus which has so far killed over 1,000 people in the past nine months.
Fighting the spread of the disease has been challenging due to continued conflict in parts of the country.
The WHO said it was worried there could be continued “intense transmission” of the virus.
Introducing the new vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson will add up to the previous vaccine made by Merck. The Merck vaccine is already being used.
Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, told journalists in Geneva that “We still face major issues of community acceptance and trust.”
There are vaccines available but the concern for Dr. Ryan is that ongoing violence is hampering the work of health workers.
In April the WHO said “Though the risk of spread (Ebola) within the country and to neighbouring countries is very high, the risk remains low globally.”
Some international public health experts have already urged the WHO to declare an Ebola emergency in the Congo.
The DR Congo outbreak only comes second to the outbreak recorded in West Africa. That outbreak was between 2013 and 2016 killing over 11,000 people.
The Ebola virus is transmitted by bats. It was named after the Ebola River when it was detected in DRC.
Ebola leads to internal and external bleeding which can cause damage done to blood vessels.
Source: Africafeeds.com
