Despite US pushback, officials in west Africa say controversial hepatitis B study on pause amid ethics concerns
S health officials insisted it was still on. African health leaders said it was cancelled. At the heart of the controversy is the west African nation of Guinea-Bissau – one of the poorest countries in the world and the proposed site of a hotly debated US-funded study on vaccines.
The study on hepatitis B vaccination, to be led by Danish researchers, became a flashpoint after major changes to the US vaccination schedule and prompted questions about how research is conducted ethically in other countries.
On Thursday, Quinhin Nantote, a military doctor and the recently appointed minister of health in Guinea-Bissau, confirmed to journalists that the trial has been “cancelled or suspended” because the science was not well-reviewed. Guinea-Bissau experienced a coup in November, and top leaders were recently replaced.
A team of research experts at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, at Nantote’s request, will travel to Guinea-Bissau to help officials review the study. Officials from Denmark and the US have also been invited to review the trial, Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa CDC, said at the press meeting.
