Ebola vaccine trials are beginning in Uganda, Director of the Uganda Virus Research Institute Pontiano Kaleebu said, Report informs via TASS.
According to Kaleebu, it is planned to use up to 2,000 vaccine doses, despite the fact that this is an experimental vaccine, which has not yet been licensed.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has donated more than 2,100 Ebola vaccine doses to Uganda to assess its efficacy. The vaccine will be used in those who contacted with Ebola patients and who are exposed to increased risks.
Two large-scale Ebola outbreaks in Africa in the past two decades have claimed the lives of more than 11,000 people in Liberia and neighboring countries, as well as around 2,300 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
The previous Ebola outbreak in Uganda in late 2022 killed 55 out of 143 infected people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes Ebola virus disease (formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) as "a severe, often fatal illness, with a case fatality rate of up to 90%." Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.
The infection is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people. People are infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus. The incubation period is 2 to 21 days. During an outbreak, those at higher risk of infection are health workers, family members and others in close contact with sick people and deceased patients.
