Uganda declares lockdown, Merck to donate vaccine to tackle Ebola

Parts of Uganda are in lockdown as the country aims to control a new outbreak of Ebola. The three-week quarantine was introduced in the Mubende and Kassanda districts, which are at the epicentre of an outbreak of the Sudan variant of the virus.

The first case of the Sudan strain was reported in September, the first time it had appeared in Uganda in 10 years. Within a week a total of 36 cases had been confirmed along with 23 deaths.

The virus spread to capital city Kampala at the beginning of October after a man travelled from the Kassanda district to get medical treatment before he died. The number of known infections in Kampala has since risen to 14 and there are fears transmission could spiral out of control among the city’s population of more than 1.6 million people. President of the Uganda Medical Association Dr Samuel Oledo is calling lockdown measures to be extended.

Sudan variant

The Sudan strain is severe and fatal in more than half the people it infects. It first emerged in 1976 and there have been seven outbreaks of the variant since.

The virus spreads from infected animals such as fruit bats, monkeys or porcupines to humans, who then transmit it via direct contact through body fluids or objects that have been contaminated with body fluids.

There have been 90 confirmed and probable cases of the latest outbreak in Uganda since it began in September, and 28 people have died. 

The search for an Ebola vaccine

There are no licensed treatments or vaccines for the prevention and treatment of Sudan variant of the disease, however, Science has reported that Merck has up to 100,000 frozen doses of an experimental vaccine that targets this particular strain.

Following discussions with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ugandan government, Merck has agreed to donate 50,000 doses to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiate (IAVI) by the end of 2022.

Commenting on the agreement, Beth-Ann Coller, executive director for Global Clinical Development Vaccines at Merck Research Laboratories said: “We are moving with urgency to prepare these vials and donate them to IAVI as quickly as possible to help support the efforts of the WHO and the people of Uganda as they grapple with this outbreak.”

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