Experimental ebola vaccine raises hopes Congo outbreak can be stopped

22 May 2018

Just weeks after patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) tested positive for the Ebola virus, signalling what could be the start of another outbreak, officials have started distributing an experimental vaccine in an attempt to forestall its spread.

Public health workers are focusing their efforts on the town of Mbandaka, at the heart of the affected area. The vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, will eventually be sent out to over 8,000 people in the surrounding population.

Originally developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the treatment was licensed to Iowa-based biotech firm NewLink (Nasdaq: NLNK) before rights were taken up by US pharma firm Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK).

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