The World Health Organization is urging a full-scale human trial of the only approved Ebola vaccine, Ervebo, to see if it can protect against the deadly strain driving the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The WHO also revealed that the outbreak began in February, months before it was officially declared in mid-May, making it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.
At a press conference on Monday, the WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, said genetic sequencing indicated the outbreak had started earlier than thought. He said some initial cases were wrongly diagnosed as malaria or typhoid, allowing the virus to spread unnoticed.
The WHO’s vaccine experts made the trial recommendation on Friday. The trial would assess whether Ervebo offers cross-protection against the strain now circulating in eastern Congo, where responders are struggling to catch up with the outbreak.