Nigeria identifies three drugs for treatment of Lassa fever

The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) has identified three candidate drugs for the treatment and eradication of Lassa fever in the country.

The Director-General of NABDA, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, disclosed this to journalists on Friday in Abuja.

Mustapha said scientists at the agency’s Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics Department led by its Director, Prof. Oyekanmi Nash, in collaboration with other researchers spearheaded the research.

He said: “This is NABDA’s contribution towards finding a lasting solution to Lassa fever disease in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Lassa fever kills 40 in Nigeria

“Diseases are increasing on a yearly basis. So, NABDA has repositioned and repurposed three candidate drugs for the treatment of Lassa fever.”

He expressed optimism that the drugs would address the challenges faced in treating patients diagnosed with Lassa fever.

The NABDA boss said scientists, researchers, medical practitioners and technology experts held a meeting on Wednesday in Abuja to discuss the method and processes of putting the drugs on clinical trials towards meeting plans to completely eradicate Lassa fever in Nigeria.

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