CONAKRY, Feb.23 (Xinhua) – The vaccination campaign against Ebola virus disease was launched simultaneously on Tuesday in Conakry, the Guinean capital, and in Gbéké, a new focus of the disease in the administrative region of N’Zérékoré, in the south-eastern Guinea.
More than 11,500 doses of vaccine provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and arrived in Conakry on Monday were distributed among the various localities which had notified positive cases or contact cases of patients.
Thus, in the region of N’Zérékoré, 3,500 doses of vaccine will be sent in order to vaccinate sick subjects, contact cases and their family members.
In Conakry, the campaign was launched in Dubréka, where eleven of the 31 contact cases registered received their vaccine doses. This step will be followed by vaccination in the municipalities of Matoto, Ratoma, Dixinn, Coyah, etc.
In total, more than 495 contact cases have already been identified in the various Ebola outbreaks and will receive doses of vaccine delivered to Guinea by WHO in the coming days.
At present, four vaccination teams are deployed in the field, including three in the forest region and one team maintained in Conakry.
Guinean Minister of Health Remy Lamah said the vaccination campaign would contain the Ebola virus disease in target areas and thus facilitate control of the spread of the epidemic to other regions not yet affected.
According to him, more than 70% of sick people who receive the vaccine have the chance to overcome the disease and come out cured.
From February 13 to date, Guinea has recorded six cases of death linked to the Ebola virus, including five probable cases and one case confirmed as of February 22, according to the latest report from the National Social Security Agency (ANSS) .
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