KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan authorities initiated a clinical trial on Monday for a vaccine targeting the Sudan strain of Ebola, which claimed one life in the recent outbreak. This trial, the first of its kind to evaluate the vaccine’s effectiveness against the Sudan strain, was announced by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The study focuses on health workers and individuals exposed to the Ebola strain, commencing just four days after Uganda reported the death of a nurse in Kampala. On Monday, two more cases were confirmed in relatives of the initial victim, with officials currently investigating the outbreak’s source.
Ebola transmission occurs through contact with bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials, leading to symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, and in severe cases, internal and external bleeding. Responding to this outbreak presents challenges due to Kampala’s highly mobile population of approximately 4 million. The deceased nurse sought treatment at a hospital near the capital before traveling to Mbale in the country’s east and receiving care at a public hospital, as well as from a traditional healer. The Ministry of Health has identified at least 234 contacts in relation to this outbreak.
The health authorities possess over 2,000 doses of a candidate vaccine targeting the Sudan strain, with the vaccine manufacturer yet to be disclosed. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s Africa director, hailed the trial as a significant milestone in public health emergency response and emphasized the importance of global collaboration for health security.
This Ebola outbreak follows the recent decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from the U.N. health agency and halt foreign assistance. Uganda has faced previous Ebola outbreaks, including a deadly one in 2000. Effective contact tracing is crucial in containing the spread of Ebola, a viral hemorrhagic fever.
A trial vaccine named rVSV-ZEBOV was successfully used to vaccinate 3,000 at-risk individuals during the Zaire strain Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo from 2018 to 2020. The confirmation of Ebola in Uganda adds to a series of viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in the East African region. Tanzania reported an outbreak of Marburg disease similar to Ebola last month, while Rwanda declared its Marburg outbreak over in December.
The origin of Ebola remains unknown, though scientists speculate that initial infections result from contact with infected animals or consumption of their raw meat. The disease was first identified in 1976 during concurrent outbreaks in South Sudan and Congo near the Ebola River, from which it derives its name.
