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Uganda launches new trial of Ebola vaccine
Health researchers in Uganda have launched the largest trial to date of an experimental Ebola vaccine that is expected to be deployed in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This decision comes at a time when Uganda is strengthening its preventive measures to minimize the risk of spreading the disease within its borders. Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency linked to the Ebola epidemic in the DRC, although it has suggested that the risk of spreading the disease in neighboring countries remains low.
Ugandan trials against Ebola vaccine
Uganda has launched a trial of the Janssen Pharmaceuticals Ebola vaccine, which will be tested on up to 800 people in the western district of Mbarara. This will be the largest vaccine trial to date, supported by Médecins Sans Frontières and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Uganda is stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus in the country from neighboring DRC.
In June, two people died of the disease in Uganda after two Ugandans traveled to the DRC and reported with them. However, no new cases have been reported in the country since then and all measures taken in Uganda are preventive in nature.
The Ebola epidemic in the DRC is the second largest in history, killing more than 1,800 people so far. Health experts have warned that about half of the cases in the country may still not be reported, while violence in some parts of the country and mistrust of health officials have hindered efforts to contain disease.
More than 180,000 people in the DRC have already received experimental Ebola vaccines, but health officials have expressed concern about the availability of doses needed to control the spread of the disease.
Last month, the first cases of Ebola in the bustling city of Goma, along the border with Rwanda, were reported.
Image selected: "DRC: a journey to the forefront of the fight against Ebola" photo flickr from the World Bank Photo Collection https://flickr.com/photos/worldbank/46385535085 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC -ND) License
About Aaron Brooks
Aaron Brooks is a British journalist who wants to reduce international news. Spending his first years in England and Northern Ireland, he soon realized the difference between reality and media coverage. After earning a BA in journalism from the University of Chester, his travels revealed the breadth of the gap that separates current affairs from the real world. As editor-in-chief of the East Africa Monitor, his job is to provide a balanced vision of what is going on in the region for an English-speaking audience.
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