Mass vaccinations will not stop Ebola outbreaks, scientists have warned amid fears the virus could reach epidemic levels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Health officials in the African country have already confirmed six cases of the deadly virus, considered one of the most lethal known to science.

But it is suspected 17 people have died from Ebola - and the Congo Health Ministry has already warned that 'our country is facing another epidemic'.

Scientists fear it is a 'public health emergency', as an Ebola pandemic killed at least 11,000 as it decimated West Africa between 2014 and 2016.

All nine countries that neighbour DRC have been alerted over the possible spread of Ebola - and international aid teams have been flown into the country to help.

But a new Kent University study claims a mass vaccination programme won't help to control the fresh outbreak, which experts worry could quickly spread. 




 Health officials in the African country have already confirmed six cases of the deadly virus, considered one of the most lethal known to science (pictured, Red Cross workers carrying a corpse out of a house in Sierra Leone during the Ebola pandemic of 2014-16)

Professor Martin Michaelis and colleagues examined the prospects of a major Ebola campaign to dole out jabs to at-risk patients by looking at 35 old studies. 

Writing in the Frontiers in Immunology, they revealed that controlling an outbreak of the virus depends entirely on surveillance and the isolation of cases.

At least 80 per cent of the population would have to receive the vaccine to establish herd immunity, as the average infected patient passes it onto four other people.

But, Professor Michaelis and colleagues pointed to a trial during the Ebola pandemic, which showed less than half of patients were given a experimental jab.

Currently, there are no vaccines to protect patients against Ebola - and scientists are unsure if any of the ones under investigation will work in the long-term.




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Doling out vaccines to populations would also be 'costly and impractical', Professor Michaelis and colleagues claimed, as many people at risk live in remote, rural areas.  

Where is the outbreak happening?

The new outbreak is occurring in the northwestern town of Bikoro - which is around 324 miles (522km) north of the capital Kinshasa.

In the past 24 hours, it has emerged cases of a haemorrhagic fever - believed to be Ebola - have been reported since December, with deaths in January.

However, the Congo Health Ministry only confirmed the outbreak two days ago, and revealed two people had been struck down by the virus.

Local health chiefs in Bikoro, in the Equater province, with a population of 8,000, today confirmed four new cases of Ebola, including two hospital workers.

But the World Health Organization warns there has been 21 suspected cases of an Ebola-like fever and 17 deaths since the start of April.

Tests are yet to confirm if all of those patients had Ebola - but officials suspect it is likely, due to the virus being endemic in the DRC. 




They warned it was a 'public health emergency' (a health worker is pictured spraying a colleague with disinfectant during a training session for Congolese health workers to deal with Ebola four years ago)







Has the DRC been struck by Ebola before? 

DRC escaped the brutal Ebola pandemic, which was finally declared over in January 2016 - but it was struck by a smaller outbreak last year.

Four DRC residents died from the virus in 2017. The outbreak lasted just 42 days and international aid teams were praised for their prompt responses. 

Health experts credit an awareness of the disease among the DRC population and local medical staff's experience treating for past successes containing its spread.

The country's vast, remote geography also gives it an advantage, as outbreaks are often localised and relatively easy to isolate.

Bikoro, however, lies not far from the banks of the Congo River, considered to be an essential waterway for transport and commerce.

Further downstream, the river flows past Kinshasa and Brazzaville, quick loans capital of Congo Republic - two cities have a combined population of over 12 million people.

Named after the DRC's Ebola river 

The new outbreak is is the country's since the discovery of the killer virus, which was named after the Ebola river in the north of DRC, in 1976.

The Congo Health Ministry said on Tuesday: 'Our country is facing another epidemic of the Ebola virus, which constitutes an international public health emergency.

'We still dispose of the well trained human resources that were able to rapidly control previous epidemics.' 

Neighbouring countries alerted

Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi and the Republic of Congo - which border the DRC - have all been alerted.

While Kenya - which doesn't border the country - yesterday issued warnings over the possible spread of Ebola.

Thermal guns to detect anyone with a fever have been put in place along its border with Uganda and at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Concerned health officials in Nigeria, which also doesn't border the DRC, have put similar measures in place to keep its population safe.  

International aid teams deployed 

The WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Provincial Division of Health traveled to Bikoro earlier this week in an effort to stem the outbreak.

Health chiefs stated on Tuesday a team of epidemiologists, logisticians, clinicians, and other infection experts will be deployed to the DRC.

The WHO has released £738,000 ($1m) from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support response activities for the next three months. 

Dr Peter Salama, WHO deputy director general, said on Tuesday that it is urgently working to 'reduce the loss of life and suffering' from the Ebola outbreak.

Ebola is often fatal if untreated - around 50 per cent of patients die. It is transmitted to people from wild animals and can be spread from human to human.