The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was only confirmed to be underway at the end of last week, is already the fourth largest on record. The deadly virus is spreading in a conflict zone where recent Ebola experience has shown containment will be a challenge. There is no vaccine that targets the species of the virus that is spreading there, Bundibugyo.
But there is a tiny bit of scientific evidence that suggests the existing licensed Ebola vaccine, Merck’s Ervebo, might offer some protection against this virus, even though it is designed to target a different species of Ebola, Zaire ebolavirus.
