WHO Donates Over 2,000 Ebola Vaccine Doses to Uganda Amid New Outbreak

The World Health Organization (WHO) has donated 2,160 doses of an Ebola trial vaccine to Uganda following the declaration of a new outbreak, Xinhua reported. This outbreak was triggered by the death of a 32-year-old nurse from the Sudan Ebola virus disease (SVD) at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala.

The WHO is collaborating with Uganda’s Ministry of Health, Makerere University Lung Institute, and the Ugandan Virus Research Institute to initiate vaccine trials aimed at evaluating the vaccine’s efficacy. The trials will focus on individuals at the highest risk, including close contacts of confirmed cases.

There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for the Sudan virus, but early supportive care has been shown to reduce mortality rates significantly. Uganda’s previous SVD outbreak, which lasted from September 2022 to January 2023, resulted in 164 cases and 77 deaths. The WHO emphasizes the urgent need for effective interventions to combat this deadly disease.