China's first homegrown vaccine against Ebola has entered its second phase in a clinical trial in Sierra Leone in West Africa, marking a breakthrough in overseas testing of Chinese-developed vaccines.

Chen Wei, a researcher at the Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, said on Monday that dozens of volunteers recruited from among local people had been given the shots to test the vaccine's safety and effectiveness.

Her team developed the vaccine against the deadly virus with partner Tianjin CanSino Biotechnology.