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A health worker prepares to administer a vial of vaccine against the Sudanese strain of Ebola. Photo: Hajarah Nalwadda/AP/dpa
Keystone
A few days after the outbreak of the dangerous Ebola fever in Uganda, the first test of a vaccine against the so-called Sudan strain of the virus has begun in the East African country. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this is the first attempt to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a vaccine against the Ebola disease caused by this type of virus.
"This is a critical achievement towards improving pandemic preparedness and saving lives during outbreaks," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
On Thursday, the Ugandan Ministry of Health announced the outbreak of Ebola fever in the country. A 32-year-old nurse had died a day earlier after being treated for five days in a hospital in the capital Kampala. It is not yet known where the 32-year-old was infected.
Vaccination of contact persons
According to the WHO, three vaccination rings have now been established. The first ring includes around 40 contact persons and contact persons of contact persons of the 32-year-old.
According to the WHO, there is currently no approved vaccine that could effectively combat a possible future outbreak of Ebola caused by the Sudan virus. Approved vaccines are therefore only available for the disease caused by the Ebola virus, formerly known as the Zaire Ebola virus.
There have been several Ebola outbreaks in Uganda in the past. The worst one also affected the Sudan strain of the virus in 2000 in the north of the country. At that time, 224 out of 425 infected people died.
04.02.2025, 09:27
