Scientist tasks FG on vaccine production
NAN-HG-3
Vaccines
Jos, June 15, 2017 (NAN) Mr Solomon Chollom, a laboratory scientist with the National Veterinary Research Institute, Jos, has urged the Federal Government to boost local production of vaccines to address the health needs of Nigerians.
Chollom made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Jos.
He said that the local production of vaccines would aid availability, address peculiar health situations and generate foreign exchange for government.
He said the production of vaccines would help curtail deaths due to preventable diseases, such as cerebrospinal meningitis, which he said had claimed the lives of many Nigerians.
The scientist further said that the local production of vaccines would address issues of impotent as it would get to users faster and those with short shelve lives would be administered at their best.
Chollom further called on the government to establish more modern diagnostic centres for the effective management of diseases.
He lamented that Nigeria had only three Lassa diagnostic centres with capacity to carry out effective confirmatory laboratory diagnosis of diseases.
According to him, delayed diagnosis is fatal in Lassa fever management as the drug, ribavirin, is more effective when administered before day 10 post infection.
He called on the government to establish modern diagnostic centres in the six geo-political zones of the country as this would go a long way in curtailing deaths caused by delayed diagnosis.
Besides, he recommended that health awareness campaigns must be raised to enlighten not only the elites but also rural dwellers. (NAN)
UBO/LAB/MST
Edited by Lydia Beshel/Muhammad Suleiman Tola