There is a great danger that the latest outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo may be difficult to tackle.
Officials of the World Health Organization have said that it may be impossible to use a vaccine to tackle the latest outbreak.
Health officials in DR Congo confirmed the fresh outbreak of Ebola in eastern part of the country.
The health ministry said four people have so far tested positive for the deadly virus.
The latest outbreak is coming days after the country declared that the previous outbreak that killed 33 people in the northwest region was over.
The challenge for health officials is that they are unable to confirm the particular strain of Ebola causing the outbreak.
Finding a vaccine
WHO’s emergency response chief Peter Salama says it could be the Zaire, Sudan or Bundibugyo strain.
He told Reuters that if the latest outbreak is the Zaire strain, the Merck vaccine used in the last Ebola outbreak could help.
Should the latest outbreak belong to another strain, Salama says the situation will be much more complex “and we may not have any vaccine options”.
“The majority of the cases occurred in the second half of July … When the provincial medical teams have looked back … they have noted cases that could be consistent with Ebola that began even in May but it’s far too early to say,” Salama said.
Fighting the latest outbreak
International health experts on Thursday set up a laboratory in the city of Beni to help contain the spread.
The health ministry revealed that twenty people have died from hemorrhagic fevers near the town of Beni. Beni is close to the Ugandan border but the ministry did not say when these deaths occurred.
Officials have also rejected claims the latest outbreak is linked to April outbreak.
Ebola leads to internal and external bleeding which can cause damage done to blood vessels.
The virus which is transmitted by bats was first discovered in DRC in 1976 and named after the Ebola river.
Source: Africafeeds.com
