Among the uncured diseases that exist, Ebola is one of the most feared: mortality can reach up to 90% of patients, depending on the strain of virus it has. Evolution is rapid, and transmission occurs between humans through saliva, blood, tears, sweat, and semen. Contagion can happen even through human contact with cadavers or contaminated animals.

Since 1976, when the first Ebola outbreak struck Africa, scientists have worked on a cure or vaccine. It does not exist yet, but the results of a new vaccine may change this scenario: it has reached up to 97.5% efficacy. The tests took place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a recent Ebola outbreak has killed 874 deaths out of 1340 cases.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 90, 000 people were vaccinated between May 2018 and March 2019. Of these, 29, 000 were health professionals who were most exposed to the virus. The others were people living in villages with infected people or near risk areas.

90, 000 people were vaccinated in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the new vaccine ( Photo: Wikimedia Commons )

During this period, WHO accounted for 880 cases of Ebola in the country in non-immunized persons. Among those who received the vaccine, only 71 were infected with the virus. "The rVSV-ZEBOV-GP vaccine ring vaccination strategy should contribute to ending the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC and to controlling future outbreaks more quickly and effectively, " the scientists say.

The biggest challenge now is to raise awareness among people who, according to studies, deny the existence of an Ebola outbreak in the country and do not believe in medicine. Infection is also growing in border regions of Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan, necessitating faster distribution of the vaccine in these locations.