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.