Guinea-Bissau says hepatitis B vaccine trial suspended amid ethical dispute

Guinea-Bissau’s newly appointed health minister, Quinhin Nantote, told journalists that a US-funded, Danish-led study of hepatitis B vaccination in the west African country has been "cancelled or suspended", while US health officials have said the trial will proceed as planned. Nantote said the halt was because the science had not been well-reviewed after the country experienced a coup in November and top leaders were replaced.

At his request, a team from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will travel to Guinea-Bissau to help officials review the study, and officials from Denmark and the US have also been invited, Jean Kaseya of the Africa CDC said. Kaseya said the pause was a matter of national sovereignty.

The proposed trial, led by Danish researchers, would have given hepatitis B vaccine at birth to 7,000 infants and withheld the birth dose from another 7,000 until six weeks to study wider health effects. Nearly one in five adults and about 11% of young children in Guinea-Bissau have hepatitis B, the Guardian reported, and the World Health Organization recommends a birth dose within 24 hours.

Critics cited ethical concerns, with Abdulhammad Babatunde calling the trial design "not acceptable" and saying the control group should receive the standard of care.

Key Topics

World, Guinea-bissau, Hepatitis B Vaccine, Quinhin Nantote, Africa Cdc, Hhs