ByREUTERS

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been allocated 70,000 doses of Merck's Ervebo Ebola vaccine, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, as the country works to contain its biggest-ever outbreak of the deadly disease. 

Last week, the DRC had requested a release of Ervebo vaccines from the global Ebola virus disease vaccine stockpile, managed by the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision, according to WHO.

The Ervebo vaccine is approved to prevent disease caused by the most common Ebola strain, Ebola Zaire, and its effect on Ebola Bundibugyo in humans is still unknown. Out of the 70,000 doses allocated by WHO, 20,000 will be used in a late-stage trial to understand the impact of the vaccine on the Bundibugyo strain.

Members of the Civil Protection team, which works to help mitigate the spread of the Ebola virus, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfect after handling the body of an unidentified man, who according to his family, died of Ebola, in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Members of the Civil Protection team, which works to help mitigate the spread of the Ebola virus, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfect after handling the body of an unidentified man, who according to his family, died of Ebola, in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo. (credit: REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere)

Outbreak now biggest in DRC's history

The outbreak is now the biggest Ebola epidemic in the DRC's history, with over 5,000 confirmed cases and 2,378 deaths, according to government data, surpassing the previous worst outbreak from 2018 to 2020. 

Earlier this week, WHO's Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo remains a global emergency.