The World Health Organisation, WHO, has commenced clinical trial against the Sudan ebolavirus, one of the six species of the Ebolavirus genus.
In a statement issued by its Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO said the first doses of candidate vaccines against the Sudan Ebolavirus were expected to arrive in Uganda in the coming days.
Dr. Moeti, who addressed a press conference in Uganda, accompanied by the Incident Commander, Ebola outbreak, Ministry of Health, Uganda, Lieutenant Connell Henry Bossa, said WHO was boosting efforts to support the government-led response against the outbreak which has now affected nine districts, including three complex urban environments.
According to him, WHO’s committee of external experts had evaluated three candidate vaccines and agreed that they all be deployed to Uganda for a clinical trial against the Sudan ebolavirus.
It explained that unlike the Zaire ebolavirus which had sparked most of the recent outbreaks, there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Sudan ebolavirus.
According to WHO, supplies of one of the three candidate vaccines is expected to arrive Uganda next week and the other two soon after since trial protocol had been conditionally approved by WHO and Uganda and the final approvals are expected soon.
Uganda declared an outbreak of Sudan ebolavirus on twentieth September and as at fourteenth November 2022, there had been one hundred and sixty-three total cases with fifty-five confirmed and twenty-two probable deaths reported.
Comments are closed for this post.