Cape Town - Discussions are under way to determine which candidate vaccine could be deployed to fight the Ebola outbreak in Uganda.
The Ugandan Ministry of Health has confirmed 43 cases of Ebola and reported 29 deaths.
The current outbreak in Uganda is caused by a rare variant of the virus known as the Sudan strain, which raises several medical and operational challenges for the teams on the ground.
There is no vaccine for the Sudan strain of the virus.
Discussions are under way at the World Health Organization (WHO) to determine which candidate vaccine could be deployed in a new clinical trial with a view to potentially getting it licensed for use.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams are working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Uganda and have set up an initial emergency response to help stop the disease from spreading further.
MSF’s deputy head of emergency programmes, Dr Guyguy Manangama said: “We know that the earlier patients receive medical attention, the greater their chance of survival. The initial symptoms of Ebola are not distinctive, being similar to those of malaria or other febrile viruses such as typhoid. The main issue is rapid access to information, diagnosis and care. In Ebola outbreaks, too many people still arrive at health centres with advanced disease or even die at home, infecting others in the process. This is what we need to avoid.”
MSF teams plan to support the response in Uganda by setting up small centres in affected sub-districts. A 36-bed isolation unit with intensive care capacity for suspected and confirmed patients has been set up in Mubende.
“In past outbreaks, patients were often taken straight to large case management centres outside their communities, which in many instances led to rumours circulating within the community, causing hostility towards health workers and the rejection of the response.”
Cape Times