KAMPALA, Uganda — Authorities in Uganda are gearing up to initiate a trial vaccination program in response to an Ebola outbreak in the capital city, Kampala, according to a senior health official on Sunday.
Pontiano Kaleebu, who leads the Uganda Virus Research Institute, indicated that scientists are rapidly developing research protocols to facilitate the deployment of over 2,000 doses of a candidate vaccine targeting the Sudan strain of the virus. He emphasized that while the procedures are being expedited for regulatory approvals, the vaccine remains unlicensed at this point.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has extended its support to Uganda amid the outbreak and confirmed access to 2,160 doses of the trial vaccine. According to a WHO statement, research teams are already on the ground collaborating with surveillance teams while awaiting the necessary approvals.
The vaccine and accompanying treatment options are being made available through clinical trial protocols aimed at assessing both safety and efficacy. The identity of the vaccine manufacturer has not been disclosed yet. Notably, there are no licensed vaccines for the Sudan strain of Ebola, which has unfortunately claimed the life of a nurse at Kampala’s primary referral hospital. Following his death on Wednesday, health officials announced the outbreak had begun the very next day. Investigations into the origin of the outbreak are still ongoing, and so far, there haven’t been any other confirmed infections.
Since the conclusion of a previous Ebola outbreak in September 2022, which resulted in at least 55 fatalities, Uganda has held onto candidate vaccine doses. Kaleebu noted that there was insufficient time to launch a vaccine study before that outbreak ended four months later in central Uganda.
In the past, a trial vaccine known as rVSV-ZEBOV was effectively utilized during an outbreak of the Zaire strain of Ebola in eastern Congo from 2018 to 2020, with approximately 3,000 individuals at risk receiving vaccinations. This intervention proved to be effective in controlling the outbreak’s spread.
Uganda has faced several Ebola outbreaks over the years, including a significant one in 2000 that resulted in enormous loss of life. The West African Ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016 marked the largest death toll in history, with over 11,000 lives lost.
Contact tracing is crucial in curtailing the transmission of Ebola, which typically presents as viral hemorrhagic fever. Currently, officials have identified at least 44 contacts of the deceased patient, which includes 30 health professionals and other patients, according to the Ministry of Health in Uganda.
The recent confirmation of Ebola adds to a concerning trend of viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in the eastern African region. Earlier this month, Tanzania reported an outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg disease, while Rwanda confirmed the end of its own Marburg outbreak in December. The ongoing Marburg situation in the Kagera region of northern Tanzania has reportedly resulted in at least two fatalities, as stated by local health authorities.
The outbreak in Kampala poses a unique challenge due to the city’s large, mobile population of around 4 million residents. The nurse who succumbed to the disease sought treatment at a hospital outside Kampala and subsequently traveled to Mbale, in eastern Uganda, where he was hospitalized. Health authorities have noted that he also consulted a traditional healer during his illness.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected individual or via contaminated objects. Symptoms typically include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pains, and, in severe cases, bleeding both internally and externally.
While researchers are still trying to pinpoint the natural reservoir of the Ebola virus, it is believed that the initial infection in an outbreak can occur through contact with an infected animal or consumption of its raw meat.
The Ebola virus was first identified in 1976 after outbreaks occurred simultaneously in South Sudan and Congo, particularly in a village near the Ebola River, which gave the disease its name.
