– Yorubas are reportedly immune to Lassa Fever
– Researcher says their genes makes that possible
photo of the exact that causes Lassa fever virus
A research carried out by a Nigerian university lecturer, Professor Christian Happi, has revealed that the Yoruba tribe is immune to Lassa Fever.
According to the report by National Mirror, Professor Happi stated that by virtue of Yoruba people’s genes, they are immune to the deadly disease hosted by rats.
Happi, who doubles as the Dean, College of Postgraduate Studies, Department of Biological Sciences, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun state, noted also that he is still researching why this is so, stating emphatically that few cases of Lassa fever recorded among the Yorubas are ‘imported’.
On the new breakthrough made on the rampaging fever, the lecturer who is also the director, World Funded African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), said the virus originated from Nigeria about 1,060 years ago.
Speaking in Ede recently, he explained that the disease spread to other West African countries about 400 years ago, and that the Yorubas have the capacity to resist the virus more than any other ethnic group in country.
He carpeted the federal government over her ‘lackadaisical attitude’ in experimenting several products made by Nigerian scholars to tackle series of challenges affecting the growth and development of the country.
According to him, despite the huge amount the country spent on the discoveries on Ebola virus by the institution, they remained unexplored by government and relevant institutions.
While also condemning the policy of TETFUND, which only support researchers in public tertiary institutions, even when private universities have maintained lead in research findings across the globe over the years, Professor Happi said if adequately funded, private universities are capable of living beyond expectations of Nigerians in the area of research work.
He also noted that Ribavirin which is presently used to treat Lassa fever was not designed for the disease, adding that it would only be effective when given in the early phase of the infection.
Happi said: “Using next generation sequencing, we successfully sequenced hundreds of Lassa fever viruses, thereby generating the largest catalogue of Lassa fever virus sequenced in the world, which in turn resulted to the identification of new epitopes in the virus.”
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