Geneva, August 20 (QNA) – The Democratic Republic of the Congo will receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which has proven effective in previous Ebola outbreaks, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners announced today.

WHO said the number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country had exceeded 5,000, amid warnings that the virus could continue spreading within the country and potentially reach other countries.

The organization noted that while it is not known whether Ervebo provides protection against Bundibugyo virus, laboratory and animal-testing data suggest that it may offer some protection.

It added that the vaccine doses would provide a major boost to efforts to contain the outbreak, which it said could be brought under control within three months if the necessary resources were available.

The latest data from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), an agency of the African Union, showed that confirmed cases had reached 5,021, including 2,378 deaths.

The current outbreak is attributed to a rare strain known as Bundibugyo virus, while clinical trials are continuing to identify effective means of preventing and treating the disease. (QNA)