Uganda has started a trial vaccination programme for the strain of Ebola viral infection behind the country’s latest outbreak.

According to the World Health Organisation, the number of confirmed cases has risen to three.

Earlier, the East African country announced an outbreak of Ebola in the capital, Kampala, with a single case, a nurse who died on January 29.

Ministry of Health Spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona told Reuters that the total number of cases had now risen to three, with two additional cases from the family of the deceased nurse.

In a post on the X platform, WHO Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said Uganda had also started a clinical trial of a vaccine against the Sudan strain of Ebola.

               
Currently, there is no approved vaccine for that strain. The existing vaccination is for the Zaire strain, which is behind a recent outbreak in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

“This marks a major milestone in public health emergency response and demonstrates the power of collaboration for global health security. If proven effective, the vaccine will further strengthen measures to protect communities from future outbreaks,” Mr Moeti said.

Bruce Kirenga, who heads Makerere Lung Institute, a research organisation that is doing the trial, told local media during the launch of the vaccination that it had been developed by the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and that the institute received about 2,460 doses.

The health ministry also said that the trial would target contacts of confirmed cases.

A high-fatality disease, Ebola infection symptoms include haemorrhage, headache, and muscle pains. The virus is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissue. 

(Reuters/NAN)