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Scientists and researchers have been tasked to intensify their research to develop a vaccine that could prevent the spread of Lbada fever on the continent in the near future.
This call was launched at the first international conference on Lbada fever held Wednesday in Abuja.
Although some research on Lbada fever vaccines is underway, none has been certified for use.
All are still in the clinical phase.
This is one of the reasons for the organization of the international conference on Lbada fever.
The conference was intended to create an avenue for researchers, scientists, health workers and people interested in the disease from around the world to come together to reflect on what is known and available and to prioritize the research agenda. for the purpose of eradicating the disease.
At the opening ceremony of the event, the State Minister for Health, Osagie Ehanire, said the federal government was vigorously working to prevent the resurgence of fever from Lbada in the country.
Mr. Ehanire said that Nigeria had developed a research plan on Lbada fever, aligned with the global research agenda.
He added that the government should invest more in staff training, acquiring the necessary equipment, developing the best protocols and adopting best practices allowing the country to obtain the desired results.
"I hope that all global efforts will bear fruit in the near future, in order to have more tools at our disposal for the prevention, detection and rapid response to such epidemics", a- he declared.
Ironically, the disease begins at the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the virus in a small town called Lbada, in Borno State.
The weekly epidemiological report of the Nigeria Disease Control Center indicates that seven people have died from the 25 confirmed cases of the disease in seven states, including the CTF.
Lbada fever is a fatal disease caused by a virus present in the urine or feces of an infected rat. The disease is often transmitted by rodents to humans or humans to humans.
This causes fever, weakness, convulsions and most of the time, is fatal.
Lbada fever has become endemic in West Africa. Nigeria, between January and May 2018, experienced the largest epidemic of this disease ever recorded.
The upsurge in registered cases has put Nigeria on high international alert, raising concerns about the emergence of the strain of disease and the rate of transmission.
Tanko Almakura, governor of Nasarawa State, also called on West African countries to rise to the challenge and end Lbada fever.
Mr Almakura, a survivor of Lbada fever but who lost his son to the virus, urged researchers to prioritize research that could help limit the spread of the disease, as the research is long overdue.
He said that it was a pity that Nigerians, after 50 years of discovering the disease, are still dying.
Mr Almakura called on state governments to improve their attitude to the disease, as most survivors, like his son and himself, suffer from disabilities even after their recovery.
As part of his contribution to the fight against Lbada fever in Nigeria, he is building a modern laboratory in Lafia, which is already 80% complete.
In addition, NCDC President and CEO Chikwe Ihekweazu said in his speech that the conference aims to share the knowledge of the international scientific community about the disease.
He said that Nigeria was no longer comfortable with simply receiving knowledge, but wanted to co-create that knowledge.
"We want to co-create knowledge that defines one of the most important issues in Nigeria, and we hope that at the end of the conference we will be on the path to innovation in vaccines that would help curb the spread of the disease. "
Mr Ihekweazu said that it had become necessary to develop a vaccine to fight the spread of the disease, because of the high rate of transmission and lethality of the disease.
"With a lethality rate of 25%, a person diagnosed with Lbada fever out of four dies, and it has become necessary to think of a vaccine."
Mr Ihekweazu said that at least 150 research works by scientists and institutions working on all aspects of Lbada fever should be presented at the conference.
He said the documents covered ranged from prevention and management to diagnosis, detection and risk communication.
But Ihekweazu badured Nigerians that NCDC's goal was to reduce the death rate to less than 5 percent over the next 10 years.
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