Nigeria To Conduct Lassa Fever Vaccine Clinical Trials

Mr Ifedayo Adetifa, the Director-General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has confirmed that the agency is working towards conducting a clinical trial for Lassa fever vaccine in the country.

He made this known on Tuesday, May 2.

Speaking at a Lassa fever research colloquium and workshop organized by the  NCDC in collaboration with University College London and Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetric, Adetifa said the first phase of the clinical trials, which are human trials to establish safety, would be held in Ghana, while the later stages focusing on immunity and efficacy, among others, would be done in Nigeria.

The trial sites include the Lassa fever centres in Irrua, Edo state, Owo, Ondo state and  Abakaliki in Ebonyi state among others.

Adetifa also said the focus of the colloquium was to advance the collective efforts towards combating Lassa fever through sharing new ideas, research findings, and best practices related to Lassa fever epidemiology, case management, prevention and control, and molecular studies.

He said;

“Additionally, we hope to identify national Lassa fever research priorities to guide the development of the next 5-year Lassa fever research agenda for Nigeria.”

As at April 23, a total of 4,908 suspected cases, 897 confirmed cases and 154 deaths had been recorded in 26 states.