By Mumini Abdulkareem
The possible outbreak of another equally dangerous disease has been highlighted with a call to government and relevant authorities for more emphasis on bio researches across the country.
A Professor of Medical Virology at the department of Micro Biology, University of Ilorin, Olatunji Kolawole made this revelation while delivering the one hundred and ninetieth inaugural lecture of the institution titled “Transcending the viral world: A tale of mimicry, knockdown and knockout”, on Thursday at the University Auditorium.
According to him, strains of the Marburg virus have been found in Ilorin during a study that was carried out in conjunction with other experts.
He said “It is quite alarming that we found positive sera Marburg virus in a study population in Ilorin” adding that “the study showed that 26.5% of the study population had been exposed to Marburg virus in the past.
“In the study, we are currently confirming the viability of these results using molecular techniques to help us ascertain the specific strains of the virus present. But if this is confirmed, he noted, “We will develop robust diagnostic tools for early detection and knockdown of potential VHF outbreak in Nigeria.
“A lot of emphasis needs to be placed on the support of biomedical researches in Nigeria. The plethora of potential outbreaks that could affect Nigeria with dire health and economic consequences are enormous.
“Similar to Ebola in fatality is the Marburg virus considered to be extremely dangerous. Its serological prevalence was last reported in a Nigerian population in 1988 by Prof Oyewale Tomori who found 29 human sera positive for Marburg in the northern savannah zones of Benue and the then old Gongola States”, he submitted.
The Don also called on the government to institutionalise the practice of hand washing in work and public spaces in order to avert the outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fevers.
Kolawole who is the first professor of Medical Virology in the University of Ilorin said such measure will prevent the potential use of viral hemorrhagic fever virus as biological weapons of mass destruction.
Professor Kolawole therefore called on Health policy makers to encourage a more robust diagnostic approach in treating respiratory viral infection as most laboratory practices in hospitals are often limited to bacteriological investigations.
He further advocated for an urgent national policy to put a stop to female genital mutilation to help reduce the incidence of cervical cancer in Nigeria.
