Ebola: 125 people registered for the vaccine trials

Some 125 people out of the 400 expected, have enrolled in the voluntary programme of clinical trials of the vaccine against Ebola haemorrhagic fever in the two Cameroonian sites of Yaoundé (Centre) and Bamenda (North-West), APA learns Tuesday from sources at the Ministry of Public Health.

The same sources, under anonymity, justified the lack of enthusiasm of the population for the vaccine trial by a media campaign that created fear.

"We made people believe that during the tests, the deadly viruses that we would inoculate them with or the product to be used will cause irreversible side effects on their health," said the angry laboratory technician at the Pasteur Center in Yaoundé.

Led by GlaxoSmithKline, among others, the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), voluntary vaccine trial called "ChAd3-EBO-Z" is intended for people aged over 18 and must be closed in late November.

According to health authorities, the said test requires the subject who wants to participate to be healthy first and will receive a full and free clinical and laboratory examination, as well as a close medical monitoring throughout the duration of the study, a year.

According to the same source, with regard to the safety of subjects, insurance has been contracted by GlaxoSmithKline for the treatment or compensation of all adverse reactions, serious and unexpected. It is recalled that none of Ebola viruses have been reported to date in Cameroon.