Three Ebola candidates for a planned vaccine clinical trial are expected to be shipped to Uganda this week, World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
The country has had six more Ebola cases and two deaths confirmed in the past week, with the total number of cases now at 141 cases and 55 deaths.
The candidates include vaccines under development by the University of Oxford and Serum Institute of India, Sabin Vaccine Institute, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and Merck, reports The East African.
The virus circulating in Uganda is the Sudan strain of Ebola, for which there is no proven vaccine, unlike the more common Zaire strain that spread during recent outbreaks in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
No details
The WHO did not disclose details about the number of doses being shipped or used in the planned trial.
“The developers said a sufficient number of vaccine doses will be available for the trial and beyond, if necessary,” said the agency’s Ana Maria Henao-Restrepo.
Last month, MedicalBrief reported that a batch of trial drugs had saved 20 people infected with the Sudan strain, after doctors used monoclonal antibodies, Remdesivir and other supportive treatments on the patients.
The monoclonal antibody is a type of lab-manufactured protein administered to neutralise the targeted infectious agents. Remdesivir, on the other hand, is a broad-spectrum antiviral drug previously tested in COVID-19 patients.
The drugs were donated by the US Government, and helped treat infected healthworkers.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Trial drugs cure 20 Ebola patients in Uganda
Ebola in Uganda: Four things you need to know
Uganda starts preventative Ebola vaccine trial