Diphtheria: UNILORIN Seeks Support From NCDC To Upgrade Molecular Laboratory

In order to transform the university's molecular laboratory into a public health laboratory, the University of Ilorin says it is requesting assistance from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Prof. Wahab Egbewole, SAN, the vice-chancellor, reportedly made the request when he paid Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, director general of NCDC, a courtesy call at the agency's office, according to the university's Bulletin published on Tuesday.

Due to other dangerous outbreaks in the nation, including Lassa fever and Diphtheria, he said that the update was of utmost necessity.

Egbewole emphasised the requirement for additional investigation into the origins of Diphtheria and the growing public health significance of COVID-19.

He noted that if Nigeria was not to go back to the pre-antibiotic age, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was another major threat to humanity that needed to be stopped through molecular methods.

The VC also noted poliomyelitis as a different infection of public health concern that continued to be a problem for the nation but that could be managed if the institution's laboratory's standing was improved.

He stated that supporting the university lab in the upgrade will let the organisation and NCDC focus on the issue on a worldwide scale.

He explained that it would serve as a foundation for innovative studies that could greatly lessen the burden of communicable diseases.

The University of Ilorin Molecular Diagnostic and Research Laboratory, however, has processed over 1,300 COVID-19 samples since its commissioning in 2021, according to the vice chancellor's announcement.

“This has significantly contributed to efficient management of the disease outbreak both on campus and in Kwara State as a form of service to humanity,” he said.

He disclosed that a research team from the institution has co-authored a paper on "SARS-COV-2 Variants-Associated Outbreaks of COVID-19 in a Nigerian Tertiary Institution, North Central Nigeria" with the NCDC.

He also mentioned that the manuscript would be published in PLOS ONE, a journal that covers multidisciplinary technologies, fields, and categories.

Egbewole also informed the DG that the Unilorin molecular lab recently purchased an Illumina Sequencer, beneficial for a variety of molecular studies, with sustained TETFund assistance.

The NCDC's Director General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, expressed his appreciation for the visit and reiterated the agency's support for the institution's research efforts in his response.