The International Research Centre of Excellence (IRCE) and the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), in partnership with the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), have commenced research on a Lassa fever vaccine.

The Executive Director of IRCE/IHVN, Alash’le Abimiku, disclosed this at a news conference in Bauchi on Tuesday.

Ms Abimiku said the research would focus on studying the immunity of Lassa fever survivors to better understand how the body responds to the disease.

She added that the findings would support efforts towards developing an effective vaccine to reduce the burden of the disease in Nigeria and other affected countries.

The director said, “Lassa fever can only be managed at the moment, as there is no specific treatment. We want to study survivors and understand what made them survive.

“Lassa fever is an infectious disease that is no longer seasonal; it is now recorded throughout the year.”

She explained that the research would also focus on identifying the five different Lassa lineages circulating within the population.

“There are Lassa fever vaccines for animals, but there is a need to study how a vaccine would respond in humans,” she said.

She stated that the partnership would also involve community engagement to promote behavioural change, encourage good health practices and discourage constant contact with rodents, known to spread the disease.

She added that clinicians at ATBUTH would undergo training on symptoms of Lassa fever and improve early diagnosis and management of patients.

She said this would support researchers to determine the virus lineages circulating in the country and identify variations that could affect vaccine performance.

She added that “the second component of the research will focus on Lassa fever survivors who received care at isolation centres.

“The study will examine the immune responses of survivors to understand why some patients recover, while others develop severe complications or die from the infection.”

Ms Abimiku expressed optimism that the partnership would lead to additional research, training and public health interventions aimed at reducing the burden of Lassa fever.

Earlier, the Chief Medical Director of ATBUTH, Jibrin Yusuf, said the hospital has a molecular laboratory and an isolation centre for the management of Lassa fever patients.

Mr Yusuf said the collaboration would support the hospital in achieving its mandate of clinical services, training and research.

The Bauchi State Epidemiologist, Ahmed Mohammed, also said that the state conducts surveillance to promote response.

He added that the partnership would provide headway to mitigate the spread of other infectious diseases.

The Head of the Department of International Medicine at ATBUTH, Ibrahim Maigari, said the Lassa Isolation Centre, in partnership with the Bauchi State Government and development partners is conducting research, health education and surveillance to reduce the prevalence rate of infectious diseases.

On his part, Director of the Molecular Laboratory at ATBUTH, Suleiman Alhaji, said the laboratory is jointly managed by the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and conducts tests in Bauchi and other neighbouring states.

(NAN)