Uganda has initiated a clinical trial for a vaccine targeting the Sudan strain of Ebola, which recently led to the death of one person during the outbreak declared last week.
Health workers and individuals exposed to the virus are the primary participants in the trial, which began just days after the fatality of a nurse in the capital, Kampala.
Following the death, two more cases were confirmed in relatives of the first victim. This marks the sixth outbreak of the Sudan strain in Uganda, for which no approved vaccine currently exists. While other Ebola species have licensed vaccines, the Sudan strain remains without a cure.
The deadliest Ebola outbreak occurred between 2013 and 2016 in West Africa, claiming over 11,300 lives.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, praised the rapid launch of the trial on social media, stating that the system for developing candidate vaccines was established during a previous Sudan Ebola outbreak in Uganda in 2022, enabling this swift response.
The vaccination strategy follows a “ring” approach, where initial doses are administered to those who have come into direct contact with confirmed Ebola patients, as well as their contacts.
The first vaccination ring, defined on Monday, included 40 direct contacts and further contacts of the health worker who passed away.
Ebola spreads through body fluids, with symptoms including fever, vomiting, bleeding, and diarrhea. Of the eight previous outbreaks of the Sudan strain, five occurred in Uganda, with the remaining three in Sudan.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has experienced more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks, including one in 2020 that claimed 2,280 lives.
