Health workers in Congo being vaccinated against Ebola – WHO

A nurse shows a bottle of Ebola vaccine in Mbandaka on May 21. Photographer: Junior D. Kannah/AFP via Getty Images

Vaccination of health workers against the deadly Ebola virus has begun in the Democratic Republic of Congo to try to halt an outbreak in the volatile east of the country, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

So far 43 people are believed to have been infected in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, including 36 who have died, Congo’s health ministry said on Tuesday. More than 900 contacts of those infected have been identified, WHO said.

“Around 40 health workers are expected to be vaccinated today; by end of the week, once all the necessary steps are in place, vaccination of community contacts and their contacts will commence,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said.