Vaccination began in Yambio, Gbudue State, but health workers
in Tombura, Yei and Nimule as well as the capital city, Juba, will also be
offered the vaccine. These are high-risk areas bordering the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC), now experiencing its tenth outbreak of Ebola. The
outbreak began 1 August 2018. Neighbouring countries have not reported any
cases of Ebola, but preparedness is crucial.
As part of these preparedness activities, South Sudan
received 2 160 doses of the Ebola vaccine (rVSV-ZEBOV) from Merck, the vaccine
developer. The vaccine offers protection against the Zaire strain of the virus,
which is the one affecting DRC at present.
“It is absolutely vital that we are prepared for any
potential case of Ebola spreading beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo,”
said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director
for Africa. “WHO is investing a huge amount of resources into preventing
Ebola from spreading outside DRC and helping governments ramp up their
readiness to respond should any country have a positive case of Ebola.”
Vaccination is one of a raft of preparedness measures South
Sudan is putting into place. WHO has deployed more than 30 staff members to
support these activities.
In particular, WHO has helped train 60 health workers in good
clinical practice principles and protocol procedures to administer the yet-to-be-licensed
Ebola vaccine. To detect any travellers entering the country who may be
infected with the virus, the Ministry of Health, with the support of its
partners, has established 17 screening points. Nearly 1 million people have
been screened to date.
WHO is also supporting engagement with communities, active
surveillance for the disease at the community and health facility levels,
strengthening capacity for infection prevention and control and case
management, and supporting dissemination of Ebola information through the
media. Local laboratory capacity to test samples taken from people suspected of
having Ebola is also being strengthened. Protective gear for responders has
been stockpiled in a dedicated warehouse.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in addition to its work making
the Ebola vaccine stockpile available, is providing US$2 million to support the
WHO’s vaccination efforts in countries neighbouring the DRC, including South
Sudan.
“Although research is ongoing, the evidence so far suggests
the Ebola vaccine is a highly effective tool to help stop epidemics and can be
used to prevent this national outbreak from becoming a regional one,” said Dr
Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi. “Vaccinating front-line workers and health workers
in South Sudan border regions will be crucial: an outbreak in South Sudan would
be deeply concerning.”
Uganda began vaccinating its front-line workers in November
2018. So far, more than 2 600 health workers in eight high-risk districts have
been immunized. In DRC, more than 66 000 people have been vaccinated – more
than 21,000 of them are health and other front-line workers. Rwanda also plans
to vaccinate its front-line responders.
The yet-to-be-licensed rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine has been
shown to be highly protective against the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus in a
major trial. Though not yet commercially licensed, the vaccine is being
provided under what is known as “compassionate use” in the ongoing Ebola
outbreak in North Kivu province of DRC as part of recommendations from the Strategic
Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization. This vaccine was also used in the
Ebola outbreak in Equateur province of DRC in May–July 2018.
Copyright WHO
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