A hospital in Switzerland has announced that trials of the experimental Ebola vaccine by Merck have been suspended after those it was administered to experienced joint pain.
The Wall Street Journal noted that the Geneva University Hospital said that the trials would be suspended temporarily until January and added that the pause is just a precautionary measure.
Reuters reported that 59 people have been vaccinated so far and the volunteers who experienced mild joint pain in their hands and feet were being checked.
"They are all fine and being monitored regularly by the medical team leading the study," the hospital said in a statement.
Experimental trials are being conducted in several other countries including the United States, Canada and Germany.
The Ebola virus has killed around 6,400 people over the past several months, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Health officials from each nation expressed that they would like to have the vaccines tested in West Africa.
The trials are scheduled to resume Jan. 5.