Nigeria indicates interest to participate in clinical trials for two EVD vaccines

Following the Treatment Research Group (TRG) recommendation and in consultation with national NAFDAC and NHREC, Nigeria has indicated interest to participate in the clinical trials for two candidate EVD vaccines and are considering a third that may be added to the list. This move comes as Nigeria has also applied for experimental drugs such as TKM-Ebola.

The TRG has submitted a detailed profile and brief on the oral antiviral agent which the Japanese Government has offered to make available to affected countries through the WHO.

Speaking with BusinessDay after the second emergency National Council on Health meeting at Abuja Onyebuchi Chukwu, Minister of Health, “We are now considering this profile and brief to enable us reach a final decision on making it available to our patients. Our initial knowledge of the agent is that it has been shown to have strong antiviral activity against the influenza virus following phases I and II human trials, it is now going through phase III clinical trials; it is shown to have strong antiviral property against Ebola Virus in vitro and in vivo.

“These and the fact that it is considered safe, having passed through phases I and II clinical trials, makes it a good candidate drug for use in emergency situations as the EVD.”

Shedding more light on Ebola containment efforts in the country, the minister stated that Nigeria’s performance in curtailing the spread of EVD has been lauded by all stakeholders. While the total number of cases of EVD in Nigeria stands at sixteen and the number of cases treated at the isolation ward in Lagos State stands at thirteen as at August 31 2014, Chukwu stated that there are three confirmed cases not treated in Lagos.

These include a surviving primary contact of the index case (Patrick Sawyer), an ECOWAS Commission staff that became symptomatic and evaded survelliance in Lagos to Port Harcourt, Iyke Enemuo, a private medical practitioner who was infected and died while treating the ECOWAS Commission staff in Port Harcourt and a female patient who was on admission in the same hospital where the late Port Harcourt Doctor was also admitted although she is currently under treatment in the Isolation ward in Rivers State.

According to the minister “The ECOWAS Commission staff who became symptomatic, evaded surveillance in Lagos, travelled to Port Harcourt and infected his attending physician. Presently, he does not have viraemia but other laboratory tests for antibodies confirm that he had suffered from EVD. He is under quarantine in Lagos at the moment undergoing further tests to ensure he is totally free from the virus.

“Iyke Enemuo , a medical practitioner who was infected while treating the ECOWAS Commission staff died from EVD. It was his death that led to the investigation that revealed the introduction of EVD to Port Harcourt and the beginning of contact tracing of secondary and third degree contacts in Port Harcourt.