The World Health Organization has revealed that Uganda has taken delivery of 1,200 doses of an Ebola candidate vaccine against the Sudan Ebola virus
According to The PUNCH, the doses arrived 79 days after the outbreak was declared.
However, the WHO Africa region announced that a clinical trial would be carried out by the University of Makerere with assistance from the WHO and the Ministry of Health in Uganda.
The PUNCH reported on September 20, 2022, that Uganda health authorities declared an outbreak of Ebola disease caused by the Sudan virus, following laboratory confirmation of a patient from a village in Madudu sub-county, Mubende district in central Uganda.
According to the Ugandan Ministry of Health, as of November 30 the outbreak had killed 56 people, infected 142 people, and 4,691 people were on the contact list for follow-up.
Humans are susceptible to the severe, frequently fatal Sudan virus disease. In southern Sudan, the Sudan virus was first discovered in June 1976. Since then, the virus has periodically reappeared, and as of today, seven SVD outbreaks have been documented, four in Uganda and three in Sudan. In previous outbreaks, the estimated case fatality ratios for SVD ranged from 41% to 100%.
“The virus then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with either blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from SVD or objects that have been contaminated with body fluids (like blood, faeces, vomit) from a person sick with SVD or the body of a person who died from SVD.
“The incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days. People infected with the Sudan virus cannot spread the disease until they develop symptoms, and they remain infectious as long as their blood contains the virus. Symptoms of SVD can be sudden and include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat later followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and symptoms of impaired kidney and liver function. In some cases, the patient might present both internal and external bleeding (for example, bleeding from the gums, or blood in the stools).
“The diagnosis of SVD can be difficult, as an early nonspecific manifestation of the disease may mimic other infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever, and meningitis. Confirmation is made using numerous diagnostic methods including RT-PCR. Supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms improve survival.
“There are no licensed vaccines or therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of the Sudan virus disease,” the WHO said
