Ebola outbreak: Two vaccines cleared for trials in west Africa

Two potential Ebola vaccines have been approved for front-line trials in West Africa. The vaccines, developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Merck & Co, are expected to begin trails in Liberia at the end of January and Sierra Leone and Guinea in February.
The Merck vaccine were temporarily halted in December due to joint pain, a side effect later termed tolerable by the W
Having completed trials in the US and Europe, the next stage involves around 40,000 people being given the vaccine, including some healthcare workers. In a speech on 9 January, Marie-Paule Kieny, assistant director general of the WHO, was bullish, saying that the medical armoury against the disease was rapidly filling up.

at this time last year I would have said the cupboard was empty, dry, but now the cupboard is clearly filling up rapidly

She said.
The first stage of the process will involve three groups of 9,000 being given the vaccines in Liberia, the worst affected country. According to data from the WHO, over 21,000 people have been infected with Ebola and 0ver 8,200 have died. Although the rate of contagion has slowed recently, the outbreak is still raging on.

Ghana to test Ebola vaccine in Kintampo

Ghana is scheduled to begin a trial of an Ebola vaccine by the end of this month.

The Ebola vaccine trials will be carried out in Hohoe and Kintampo.

According to the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Professor Fred Binka, the trials will inform scientists on effective results regarding the Ebola vaccine.

This forms part of preparations towards any case detection in Ghana, he told Radio Ghana. The trial has the full backing of the World Health Organisation.

Meanwhile, Liberia, which is one of the West African countries ravaged by the disease has began a trial of a potential drug to treat Ebola.

The antiviral - brincidofovir - is being tested on Ebola patients on a voluntary basis. People who do not consent to it receive standard care.

Oxford University scientists leading the research say initial results are expected in the next few months. A study involving a similar drug - favipiravir - began in Guinea in December.

West Africa: Press Freedom Group's New Centre Supports Access to Information About Ebola

press release

This statement was originally published on mfwa.org.
As parts of efforts at increasing public awareness on Ebola, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has set up its 'Information Center on Communicable Diseases'.
The center packages reliable and regular information on Ebola in 'news-worthy' formats for the media, especially local-based radio stations. This information is used by the media to educate their audience on Ebola.
The Information Center on Communicable Diseases forms part of MFWA's Ebola and Media project, aimed at strengthening public education on Ebola and improving information flow through local radio stations - the most effective way of disseminating information in Ghana.
Under the same project, eight local-based radio stations have also received digital recorders. The recorders will enable these stations, which lack basic broadcast facilities, to do more relevant and effective reporting on Ebola. The recorders were given with funding support from the Accra-based station Starr FM.
The beneficiary radio stations are: Radio FREED in the Upper West Region, Quality FM in the Upper East Region, Yagbon FM and Radio Gaakii in the Northern Region, AHENFO Radio in the Brong Ahafo Region, Asempa FM in the Ashanti Region, Beyond FM in the Volta Region and Radio Rainbow in the Western Region.
"Earlier, our journalists had to share the only functioning recorder the station had or resort to unorthodox means of recording voices. I sincerely believe that the digital recorder from MFWA will go a long way to enhance our effort to empower and improve the lives of the people in the catchment areas," Winston Binabiba, Manager at Radio Gaakii in Northern Region stated.

The project has also led to additional activities initiated by partner radio stations. "As part of MFWA's Ebola and Media project, we have set up Ebola Cinema Campaign Team, educating our communities on dangers of Ebola, preventive measures and symptoms in our local dialect to contribute to Ghana's Ebola response", Christopher Owusu Sekyere, Head of Programmes at AHENFO Radio in Brong Ahafo Region said.
"To prevent an Ebola outbreak in Ghana, it is crucial that people have access to basic information about symptoms, preventive measures and control of the disease.
Our Media and Ebola Project will support a better flow of information in close collaboration with our partners, including the Ghana Health Service and the World Health Organization", Rikke Sig Hansen, project coordinator for the Ebola and Media Project, explained.
Contact Rikke Sig Hansen on 0545 705 454 for further information.
The MFWA calls for maximum support in efforts at ensuring that accurate information on Ebola is easily accessible to all people in Ghana.

Media Foundation for West Africa

The Race for the Ebola Vaccine

With Ebola still raging in West Africa, the race to find a vaccine is heating up. Which drug company will be first to the finish line?

The need for an Ebola vaccine in West Africa has never been greater.
While public interest in Ebola continues to dwindle, the epidemic itself continues to soar. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization reported more than 20,000 cases of the disease in West Africa, nearly half of them in Sierra Leone. The death toll, which experts believe has been significantly undercut by secret burials, stands at 7,905. With a mortality rate of 70 percent, the more cases that arise, the deadlier this epidemic becomes.
Although a few smaller companies have become involved in the race for a vaccine, three major pharmaceutical makers are taking the lead—each pursuing a different vaccine. The trials are unprecedented for a variety of reasons, including the rapid timeline (trials of this nature generally take three to four years). Each individual race involves an unusual collaboration between researchers, manufacturers, and public-health entities. Together, the teams are working 24 hours a day for a product that promises much higher risk than it does profit.

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NGO creates awareness of Ebola, cholera in Upper East

The Institute of Social Research and Development, a non-governmental organisation, with support from UKAID, a British aid agency, has launched a project in the Upper East Region to create awareness of the Ebola and cholera diseases. The project will cover a period of six months.

It would impart knowledge of the disease to the people and also educate them on ways by which they can prevent the cholera and Ebola diseases through changing their behavioural patterns.

According to the project organisers, it is expected that by the end of the project, about 70 per cent of groups thought to be ‘‘at risk” would have had their knowledge broadened on the modes of transmission, signs and symptoms of the Ebola and cholera diseases. Beneficiaries

Pupils from selected schools in the Bolgatanga and Bawku municipalities, the Builsa North and South and Bawku West districts and the Talensi, Pusiga and Binduri towns in the Upper East Region have been sensitised to the diseases.

According to the Regional Coordinator for the Institute of Social Research and Development, Mr Abdul-Razak Issah, the sensitisation exercise formed part of the organisation's health promotion activities at the school level dubbed, "In-School Sensitisation Programme". He said, creating awareness among pupils and teachers was fundamental if the diseases were to be contained.

He said creating awareness of the diseases would also enhance the pupils’ personal hygiene and promote sound environmental management practices at the school and community levels.

Mr Issah urged the pupils to take control of themselves and serve as ambassadors in creating awareness of the diseases at the community level. He urged them to take note of the signs of the diseases that include high fever, vomiting, headache, diarrhoea, sore throat and bleeding.

He encouraged the pupils to wash their hands with soap frequently and report any suspected cases of either Ebola or cholera to the nearest health facility for investigation. He expressed his gratitude to the heads of the participatory schools and the pupils for making themselves available for the project.

Mr Issah further commended UKAID and the Ghana Health Service for supporting the project. About the NGO

The Institute of Social Research and Development was established as a non-governmental organisation in Ghana in 2006. It has the objective to undertake integrated development research and design and manage development programmes aimed at improving the lives of rural people.

Since its inception, the institute has implemented numerous projects mainly in the area of health particularly in the three northern regions of the country.

The organisation is working in 200 communities in the Upper East Region and has so far held stakeholders’ meetings, organised orientation courses for traditional and religious leaders and trained a number of community health nurses and surveillance volunteers in all the 13 municipalities and districts of the Upper East Region.

Source:GhanaWeb

Ghana to test Ebola vaccine by end of January

Ghana will by the end of this month begin Ebola vaccine trials in Hohoe and Kintampo.

The trials will inform scientists on effective results regarding the Ebola vaccine.

This forms part of preparations towards any case detection in the country.

The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences Ho, Professor Fred Binka, who disclosed this to Radio Ghana said the trial is being supported by the WHO.

Source:GBC

Tema Ebola centre ready

The Ebola centre in Tema is ready. It is part of three major centers being put up by the government of Ghana to deal with people who may contract the disease in the event of an outbreak.

“Everything is set in there and can be used in case we have an Ebola patient,” said Tony Goodman, the Public Relations Officer for Ministry of Health.

The 10-bed capacity structure was built with funds from the GHC 6 million released by the Ghana government to prepare the nation for any Ebola outbreak.

The remaining centers for the middle and northern belts are also expected to be ready soon.

The structure which is situated close to the entrance of the Tema General hospital is made of tarpaulin supported at the edges with metallic polls.

It has all the facilities needed in a medical ward including a decontamination chamber, corpse carrier bags, goggles, infrared thermometers, and nasal oxygen tubes, among others.

Ghana which is currently hosting a United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), has so far tested over 80 suspected cases of Ebola which have all proven negative.

The country has received support from some other nations including the Japanese government which has donated 150,000 posters and brochures to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to support the campaign to create awareness.

China has also donated 5 million yuan ($833,000) worth of equipment and medical supplies to help the country deal with any outbreak

Mr. Goodman said the Health Ministry is aiming at building permanent structures to handle such outbreaks in the future.

“We are looking at building a more suitable one,” he said, “one that can last for long.”

Ebola has killed over 3,000 people in West Africa with Serria Leone, Guinea and Liberia being the worst affected countries.

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