As Nigeria targets the 2030 elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in the country, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) said the country was on course to achieving
By Kemi Akintokun
As Nigeria targets the 2030 elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in the country, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) said the country was on course to achieving the feat.
Dr Babatunde Adewale, a Director of Research at NIMR, made the assertion at the institute’s monthly media chat organised to inform Nigerians on some of its research findings.
Adewale described NTDs as a group of conditions caused by variety of pathogens like bacteria, fungi, parasite, and virus, mostly associated with rural areas.
The director, who spoke on Onchocerciasis, an NTD commonly known as river blindness, said the disease was transmitted through bites from infected black flies, affecting the skin and the eyes.
According to him, Ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug approved by the World Health Organisation, is used for the treatment and control of the diseases through mass administration in areas that are mostly affected.
Adewale said the country was currently at the stage of interruption of transmission of the disease, thereby moving from the era of control to elimination of river blindness, based on recent research and findings.
He said 37 million Nigerians have been taken off the treatment of river blindness having been certified free of the disease, while 43 millions were still at risk and eligible for treatment.
The director said that over 10 states in the country have achieved the stage of interruption of transmission, but were still under surveillance to prevent resurgence of the disease.
The expert revealed that treatment for onchocerciasis, which is prevalent in almost all the states in the country except Lagos and Rivers states, is a continuous process until the particular area is certified cleared.
“Over the years, with the advent of Ivermectin, which is the drug of choice for the control of river blindness as far back in the 90s when the control began in Nigeria, the strategy adopted was mass administration of Ivermectin.
“Over the years, studies from Nigeria, Mali and Senegal show that Ivermectin, instead of just controlling river blindness can also eliminate the disease.
“So, instead of looking at control of the disease , there was a paradigm shift from the initial control strategy to elimination.
“The mode of treatment adopted is the community direct treatment where members of the community are engaged and individuals appointed and are trained to handle the distribution of the drug,” he said.
On NIMR’s roles, the director said the institute belonged to a network of four laboratories in the country that supported the Federal Ministry of Health to access the progress made toward elimination of the disease.
He added that in addition to the laboratory support, the institute also provided technical expertise and research back up, which he described as one of the major components of the institute.
“Over the years NIMR has contributed to the body of knowledge to achieve elimination.
“We were able to determine the seasonality of transmission of the infection and the good thing about that, is that you can target a particular time to treat when there will be high rate of transmission,” he said.
He, however, noted that rate of insecurity in some parts of the country was hindering access to some endemic communities. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)