An experimental vaccine has been shipped into the Democratic Republic of Congo to stem the tide of the Ebola outbreak gripping the country.
Health workers in the DRC have begun widespread immunisation campaign in an effort to stop the disease in its tracks as 27 people have already died from the current outbreak
The experimental vaccine proved effective when used in limited trials during the epidemic which struck West Africa in 2014-16.
Health workers were among the first to receive the vaccine on Monday and it is now being distributed among the families of those who have already died from the illness.
The WHO has this week begun administering vaccines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, starting in the north-western city of Mbandaka, a provincial capital with a similar population to Perth or Adelaide.
The initial targets of the vaccination program are health workers and family members of the deceased, and more than 4,000 doses have already been shipped to the country from WHO headquarters in Switzerland.
The WHO admits the fact the ebola outbreak has spread in the past two weeks from a remote part of the country to an important administrative centre is cause for concern.
‘One of the big differences is that West African health systems had not known ebola epidemics before,’ Mr Jasaravic said.
‘You had health workers who were not trained to deal with the ebola virus, and those health systems were also very weak.
‘And really from day one they have started to coordinate all the partners to make sure all pieces are carried out as fast as possible.’
Officials also said the crisis was being made worse by local traditions such as eating monkey meat.
But locals in the provincial town of Mbandaka said they would not be put off their food by the warnings.
