An emergency vaccine trial has been launched to combat a new outbreak of the deadly Sudan strain of Ebola virus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the trial in Uganda had been established with "unprecedented speed" in what could serve as a model for managing future disease outbreaks.
The rapid deployment comes after a nurse died from the haemorrhagic fever last week, prompting urgent action to prevent further spread.
The trial will initially vaccinate 40 people who were connected to the deceased nurse, including direct contacts and contacts of contacts.
Health officials will also vaccinate contacts of two other infected individuals in the coming days, creating what experts call vaccination rings around cases.
The 32-year-old male nurse had sought treatment at a hospital near Kampala before travelling to Mbale in eastern Uganda, where he was admitted to a public hospital.
The Sudan strain of Ebola has struck Uganda five times previously, with a mortality rate that can reach 50 per cent of those infected.
The most recent outbreak in September 2022 claimed more than 70 lives before being contained.
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Previous attempts to conduct full vaccine trials have been challenging, as the virus typically appears in remote areas before quickly disappearing.
While Uganda had access to the same candidate vaccine during the last outbreak, they were unable to organise trials quickly enough.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's director general, called the rapid trial setup "a critical achievement towards better pandemic preparedness, and saving lives when outbreaks occur."
Preliminary trials have shown the vaccine to be safe and capable of creating a strong immune response, though it has not yet been tested during an actual outbreak.
Professor Christophe Fraser from Oxford's Pandemic Sciences Institute noted that setting up vaccine rings is a standard response to relatively slow-moving emerging infections.
The vaccine candidate is being provided by the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), whose president Mark Feinberg highlighted the importance of having vaccine doses already available in the country.
"Critically, having vaccine doses readily available in country made it possible for us all to mobilise in just days," said Feinberg.
The trial involves a collaborative effort between multiple organisations, including the WHO, Uganda's ministry of health, the Uganda Virus Research Institute, and the Makerere University Lung Institute.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the trial in Uganda had been established with "unprecedented speed" in what could serve as a model for managing future disease outbreaks.
The rapid deployment comes after a nurse died from the haemorrhagic fever last week, prompting urgent action to prevent further spread.
The trial will initially vaccinate 40 people who were connected to the deceased nurse, including direct contacts and contacts of contacts.
Health officials will also vaccinate contacts of two other infected individuals in the coming days, creating what experts call vaccination rings around cases.
The 32-year-old male nurse had sought treatment at a hospital near Kampala before travelling to Mbale in eastern Uganda, where he was admitted to a public hospital.
The Sudan strain of Ebola has struck Uganda five times previously, with a mortality rate that can reach 50 per cent of those infected.
The most recent outbreak in September 2022 claimed more than 70 lives before being contained.
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Previous attempts to conduct full vaccine trials have been challenging, as the virus typically appears in remote areas before quickly disappearing.
While Uganda had access to the same candidate vaccine during the last outbreak, they were unable to organise trials quickly enough.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's director general, called the rapid trial setup "a critical achievement towards better pandemic preparedness, and saving lives when outbreaks occur."
Preliminary trials have shown the vaccine to be safe and capable of creating a strong immune response, though it has not yet been tested during an actual outbreak.
Professor Christophe Fraser from Oxford's Pandemic Sciences Institute noted that setting up vaccine rings is a standard response to relatively slow-moving emerging infections.
The vaccine candidate is being provided by the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), whose president Mark Feinberg highlighted the importance of having vaccine doses already available in the country.
"Critically, having vaccine doses readily available in country made it possible for us all to mobilise in just days," said Feinberg.
The trial involves a collaborative effort between multiple organisations, including the WHO, Uganda's ministry of health, the Uganda Virus Research Institute, and the Makerere University Lung Institute.
Find Out More...