TETFund urges researchers to fast-track Lassa fever vaccine

By

Musa Luka Musa

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, has challenged Nigerian researchers to accelerate efforts to develop the country’s first indigenous Lassa fever vaccine.

Echono made the call on Tuesday in Abuja while receiving the report of a TETFund-sponsored Lassa fever research project conducted by the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo (FUHSO).

He said the priority should be translating research findings into practical solutions that would reduce the burden of the disease.

“A vaccine remains the most effective way to control infectious diseases. We must identify the fastest path to developing one for Nigeria,” he said.

Echono pledged to present the findings to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the Federal Ministry of Health to support policy decisions and possible establishment of a vaccine development centre.

FUHSO Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Francis Uba, said the university received a N250 million TETFund Mega Research Grant about four years ago to study Lassa fever.

The project’s Principal Investigator, Prof. Joseph Okopi, said the study found that Benue State recorded the highest prevalence of Lassa fever antibodies among the five states surveyed.

He identified poor housing, rodent infestation and food contamination as major risk factors, adding that the research found no evidence that eating rodents was a major predictor of infection.

Researchers also called for sustained investment in vaccine development to curb recurring outbreaks of the disease.

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