Disease experts drawn from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, in collaboration with the University College of London, UCL, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics are brainstorming on how to carry out Lassa fever research and improve Lassa fever control in Nigeria.
The Director General of NCDC, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa has disclosed that the two-day colloquium will review the current state of affairs and identify priorities for research that will bring about a better understanding of the Lassa Fever transmission using a One Health approach.
The workshop also seeks to serve to “identify means of strengthening surveillance, improve forecasting, position us for vaccine trials and provide travel along the therapeutics development pathway all as part of the development of a 5-year Lassa fever research agenda”, Adetifa said.
The NCDC DG noted that the objectives of the colloquium included to provide a forum for sharing new ideas, research findings, and best practices related to Lassa fever epidemiology, case management, prevention and control, and molecular studies, to explore how to make data from new quantitative models and data sources maximally useful for on-the-ground decision-makers.
It would also show how such data products can be optimised for long-term use and to identify gaps and lassa fever research priorities to guide the development of the next Lassa fever research agenda for Nigeria.
“The colloquium is a multi-disciplinary event that aims to bring together experts using a One Health approach from various fields to share their knowledge, experiences, and insights on Lassa fever”, he added
Director of People & Nature Lab and Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research at UCL, Prof. Kate Jones said: “With the rapid development of socio-ecological knowledge of Lassa fever and new clinical technologies for its control, this conference is a hugely exciting opportunity to bring researchers, public health partners and patients to transform responses to Lassa fever in a changing world”.
Recall that the first identified Lassa in Nigeria was in Borno State in 1969, it has since become an endemic in Nigeria and other West African countries such as Ghana, Benin Republic, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, and Sierra Leone.
Lassa Fever is mainly transmitted to humans by the blood, urine, or excreta of multi-mammate rats, human-to-human transmission of the Lassa virus is common among close contacts of confirmed cases such as household members and healthcare workers.
