South Sudan to vaccinate health teams in Ebola epidemic - Business Day

Like neighbouring Uganda, where similar measures have been taken for health personnel, South Sudan has declared a state of alert because of the risk that Ebola may be carried into its territory. No cases have been reported, the WHO says.

The experimental vaccine first went on trial during the terrible epidemic of Ebola that ravaged parts of West Africa from 2013 to 2016, at a cost of more than 11,300 lives. The disease spreads through contact with bodily fluids from other people or infected animals.

The vaccine was created by Canadian public health specialists at the National Microbiology Laboratory and is considered highly effective by the WHO, but it works only against the Ebola virus-Zaire strain, confirmed in the outbreak in the DRC.

South Sudan has been torn by civil war for five years in a conflict that has left nearly 400,000 dead. More than 4-million people, about a third of the population, have fled. The main belligerents signed a peace accord in September, but the work of humanitarian organisations remains complicated and dangerous.

Participants in the vaccination programme have been trained on rVSV-Zebov and undertaken a simulation exercise. Meanwhile, the Ebola preparedness contingency plan covers measures ranging from screening travellers, community engagement and provision for safe and dignified funerals, the WHO said.

AFP

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