As Ebola outbreak threatens African countries, new vaccine is main hope
JOHANNESBURG - Hopes of containing a growing outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo are pinned on an experimental vaccine that was tested in 2015 during a major outbreak of the disease.
The World Health Organization plans to vaccinate up to 10,000 people in the first phase of its response and so far has imported 4,000 doses of the vaccine, which is manufactured by the pharmaceutical giant Merck and appears to be highly effective in preventing infection.
The outbreak was first detected this month in a rural area known as Bikoro. The threat of
