By John Ikani
A shipment of Ebola vaccine candidates set to be used in a clinical trial have arrived in Uganda, where an outbreak has infected 142 people and killed at least 56, health authorities said on Thursday.
The vaccines delivered by the World Health Organization (WHO) comes 79 days after the outbreak of the Sudan strain of the virus was declared.
Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng and the WHO Uganda Incident Manager attended a ceremony to receive the doses, Thursday (Dec. 08).
Even though the outbreak is seemingly waning with no new cases reported recently, Aceng remained cautious.
Indeed, according to WHO criteria, an Ebola outbreak ends when there are no new cases for 42 consecutive days.
“We are nine days today countdown,” she explained. “So it does not mean we will not get another (Ebola) case. Uganda is a country that always wants to be prepared and ready whenever any outbreak occurs.”
The vaccine will be administered to people who have been in contact with those who tested positive for the virus, in what is called ring vaccination.
Researchers hope to recruit at least 3,000 people, aged six years and above, to take part in the study, which will be conducted by a team of Ugandan scientists.
