As Nigeria works toward the 2030 target for the elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) says the country is making significant progress.
Dr. Babatunde Adewale, Director of Research at NIMR, disclosed this during the institute’s monthly media engagement, aimed at educating the public on recent research developments and health findings.
Adewale described NTDs as a group of condition, caused by variety of pathogens like bacteria, fungi, parasite, and virus, mostly associated with rural areas.
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“The country is currently at the stage of interruption of transmission of the disease, thereby, moving from the era of control to elimination of river blindness.
“No fewer than 37 million Nigerians have been taken off the treatment of river blindness, while 43 million are still at risk and eligible for treatment.
“Over 10 states in the country have achieved the stage of interruption of transmission and are still under surveillance to prevent resurgence of the disease, ” he said.
Speaking on onchocerciasis, an NTD commonly known as river blindness, he said that the disease is transmitted through bites from infected black flies.
According to him, Ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug approved by the World Health Organisation, is however, used for the treatment and control of the diseases.
He further said that the treatment for onchocerciasis, which is common in almost all states in Nigeria, with the exception of Lagos and Rivers, is a continuous process.
“With the advent of Ivermectin, which is the drug of choice for the control of river blindness as far back in the 90’s, when the control began in Nigeria, the strategy adopted was mass administration of Ivermectin.
“Studies from Nigeria , Mali and Senegal have shown 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 directive treatment where members of the community are engaged and appoint individuals who are train to handle the distribution of the drug,” he said.
On NIMR roles, the Director noted that the institute belong to a network of four laboratories in the country that supported the Federal Ministry of Health in accessing the progress so far.
He added that apart from laboratory support, the institute also provided technical expertise and research back up, which he described as one of the major component of the institute.