The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday it hopes to experiment the Ebola vaccine to tackle an outbreak in a remote area of Congo to prevent it spreading, particularly to the provincial capital of one million people.
Congo reported the outbreak on Tuesday, with 32 suspected, probable or confirmed cases of the disease since April 4, including 18 deaths, Reuters reported. A new suspected case was reported on Friday.
The WHO is moving quickly, having been criticised for bungling its response to a 2014-2016 outbreak that killed more than 11,300 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
“We are very concerned and planning for all scenarios, including the worst case scenario,” Peter Salama, WHO’s Deputy Director-General of Emergency Preparedness and Response, told a regular United Nations briefing in Geneva.
He said the outbreak area is 15 hours by motorbike from the closest town and has “absolutely dire” infrastructure.
“So, the WHO wants to send in 20-40 experts by helicopter this weekend and then clear an airstrip for more supplies.
“This is going to be tough and it’s going to be costly to stamp out this outbreak,” he added.
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