Some interesting data about the efficacy of the experimental vaccine that is being used to try to control the outbreak.<p>> Merck's Jakub Simon, MD, MS, addressing a session at the American Society of Tropical Medicine's (ASTMH) annual meeting here, showed two charts tracking Ebola during this past spring's outbreak in the DRC's Equateur province and the subsequent one now raging in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces. In both, health workers on the ground have been using the Merck vaccine in a so-called ring vaccination strategy to contain the epidemic. Although not yet formally approved for marketing, the vaccine has been cleared for emergency use.<p>> In Equateur, immediately after vaccination began with the Merck product, the outbreak petered out.<p>> But the experience in North Kivu and Ituri has been quite different. Although new cases dropped significantly after vaccination began in early August, they never approached zero, and 2 months later they rocketed back to the level seen before vaccinations began.<p><a href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/astmh/76018" rel="nofollow">https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/astmh/76018</a>