Dr Joseph Ojonugwa Shaibu, a Molecular Virologist whose work is totally on viruses on the Centre for Human Virology and Genomics of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Analysis (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos State, speaks on this interview with Sade Oguntola on the necessity for surveillance, dedication of prevalent disease-causing organisms and preparedness for outbreaks in Nigeria. Excerpts:
HOW was the hepatitis B equipment made? How about its uniqueness, on condition that we additionally produce other hepatitis B check kits in use around the globe?
The Nigerian Institute for Medical Analysis (NIMR) Hepatitis B model 1.0 equipment (HBV qPCR equipment 1.0) is a real-time PCR probed-based assay that runs on one channel with an inside management that runs on one other channel. It’s developed to detect and quantify the hepatitis B genotype that’s circulating in our surroundings and globally. It’s distinctive in that it’s low cost and available.
One of many pushes of our Director-Common, Professor Babatunde Salako, is that we must always develop dwelling options to our issues and we must always make certain that it’ll assist cut back prices for the general public. This need of his has led us to develop detection kits for COVID-19 (SCODA and SIMA), Lassa, yellow fever, and Monkey pox. He has been very supportive in offering funding for the processes that result in these merchandise. One factor that we leveraged in the middle of growing the hepatitis B virus (HBV) equipment was that we had repositories of HBV-positive samples and the globally authorised commonplace system (Cobass, Roche) for the prognosis of HBV; these tremendously accelerated our inside validation course of. For a number of years, we’ve got been testing for this virus in our laboratory utilizing the Roche platform. Lots of people come for hepatitis B testing day by day, however a number of instances, we run out of check kits and this elongates our turnaround time. That was how we got here up with the search to develop home-grown check kits that may compete nicely with the worldwide commonplace.
How do you see this serving to in stemming rising circumstances of hepatitis B and its problems in Nigeria?
The hepatitis B check equipment has mainly two makes use of: detection and quantification of the hepatitis B virus. For detection (to establish if an individual is optimistic to hepatitis B or not), it has 100% sensitivity and specificity, when put next with the Roche system. For affected person administration, you might want to know the viral load and that’s the place the quantification is available in. Our check equipment has a correlation coefficient of 91 % when in comparison with that of the Roche platform.
After all, there are different real-time PCR hepatitis B check kits out there in the marketplace. However a giant problem with these kits is the poor yield of the virus in the course of the extraction course of for testing, which in the end impacts the efficiency of the equipment. Most laboratories use a spin column-based extraction course of, which provides a low DNA yield for HBV. In our laboratory, we’ve got an automatic extraction system, which gave us a yield with a 260/280 ratio of 1.76. This works nicely with the equipment.
Nevertheless, we’re conscious that the majority laboratories inside the nation would not have such an extraction course of in place; therefore, within the second part of this mission, we try to optimise the NIMR Biotech DNA extraction equipment to provide a yield that matches what the automated system is at present yielding. This shall be extremely helpful to the assorted laboratories that can’t afford the automated system. I can let you know that this hepatitis B check equipment goes to be of nice profit for these requiring routine hepatitis B exams and monitoring of hepatitis B DNA, as it’ll tremendously cut back the price of testing.
Are there different check kits developed by the institute? Do you additionally produce other check kits within the pipeline?
We had different kits. When COVID-19 got here, we had one for COVID-19 detection and lots of laboratories additionally use them for detection at a less expensive worth, in comparison with what was obtainable with different check kits introduced from overseas. We additionally developed check kits for Lassa fever, yellow fever and monkey pox. Our goal is to develop detection kits for any illness that’s of public well being significance and has been declared a precedence by the Nigeria Centre for Illness Management (NCDC) and World Well being Organisation (WHO). We’re engaged on PCR assays, serology assays and speedy detection kits for arboviruses. The speedy detection kits are to be taken to distant websites for preliminary screenings to provoke immediate administration of infections.
If an issue and its supply are usually not identified, you can not remedy it. There are numerous infections which are circulating in our surroundings, inflicting lots of ailments which are unknown. As a result of efficient prognosis and administration are usually not there, they’ll preserve recurring. This nonetheless boils right down to the truth that we’re brief on prognosis for lots of pathogens that trigger ailments circulating in our surroundings.
As such, at NIMR, we conduct surveillance on nearly all of these infections which are of excessive fatality and of excessive precedence within the nation. As soon as we detect them, we attempt to sequence them to have genomic knowledge that may later be used within the growth of diagnostic instruments, medicine and even vaccines. Knowledge from different continents solely signifies strains which are circulating on these continents, they usually could also be completely different from these circulating in Africa. So, medicine, diagnostics and vaccines manufactured based mostly on the strains on these continents could not work successfully right here in Africa. Nevertheless, there’s not sufficient analysis to supply this genomic knowledge that covers Africa, particularly Nigeria.
Again to a molecular surveillance research you carried out to research the burden and varieties of arboviruses in circulation in Nigeria, what had been the viruses that you simply discovered?
That was one of many publications from my Ph.D. thesis on the molecular surveillance of arboviruses in Nigeria that was revealed in BMC infectious ailments. The surveillance performed in 4 states in Nigeria was on viruses for Zika, yellow fever, dengue, rift valley and Chikugunya. These are precedence infections transmitted by vectors which are widespread in our society, comparable to mosquitoes, particularly the Aedes species. One of many distinctive issues about these viral infections is that their scientific manifestations are much like these of malaria and/or typhoid.
In lots of communities in Nigeria, you see many individuals coming down with sudden excessive fevers, however as a result of there is no such thing as a parameter to make use of to test its trigger. Most instances, it’s concluded to be malaria or typhoid fever, they usually give them malaria remedy. However when the individual is just not recovering, she or he is left to his or her destiny. If it ends in loss of life, they typically attribute it to witches and wizards.
But it surely may nicely have been as a result of these different viruses which have excessive fatalities in power circumstances and unfold shortly inside a brief time period. By the point you start to see a manifestation of excessive fever, one of many suspects is an arbovirus. Arboviruses are arthropod-borne viruses; the mosquito is an instance of that.
Throughout the interval of that research, we discovered no lively circumstances of dengue fever, rift valley fever, zika, or chikugunya. However serology exams confirmed proof of publicity to all these viruses within the 4 states. They’d antibodies for these viruses. We had been capable of detect the yellow fever virus in lively circulation in one of many states. The yellow fever was lineage III of the West African genotype based mostly on molecular evaluation, opposite to earlier research that reported lineages 1 and V. It was much like the lineage that’s in circulation in Senegal. There haven’t been many molecular research intimately about these viruses in Nigeria as a result of molecular research are very costly to conduct.
However the impression many individuals have is that we don’t have viruses like rift valley, zika and chikugunya in Nigeria. Are you able to clarify?
In that research, we discovered antibodies for dengue, rift valley, zika, and chikugunya within the blood samples of individuals in these 4 states. Scientifically, it implies that folks have, at one time or one other, been uncovered to these viruses. Additionally, a number of experiences up to now truly confirmed lively circulation of the 5 viruses in Nigeria. They’re with us; the problem is that we aren’t doing sufficient to search for them. In the event you go to many communities in our nation, you will notice lots of signs that counsel these pathogens are there. However there is no such thing as a screening happening, so we aren’t more likely to know.
If each fever is just not malaria till it’s examined and confirmed to be so, does that imply that many of the circumstances of fever in the neighborhood may very well be because of the arboviruses you’re speaking about?
Sure, it’s not each fever that is because of malaria. However as a result of we’re in a malaria-endemic nation, when any person has a excessive fever, the primary check to do is a malaria check. But when the end result comes again adverse, then it’s a sign that it’s one thing else that’s inflicting the excessive fever, and additional exams are required for different pathogens which are implicated in excessive fever. Sadly, many of the well being services would not have the capability to check past malaria. That’s the reason we try, as an institute, to bridge the hole and provide you with home-grown and low cost diagnostics that meet worldwide requirements and might serve the aim.
We pray that people and the federal government purchase into it in order that we are able to have these kits unfold round well being services across the nation, and individuals who come down with excessive fever and check adverse for malaria can get screened immediately for different pathogens which are implicated in excessive fever. It’s going to additionally assist to cut back the spreading of those viruses, which, when at their highest degree of replication, may be transferred from human to human.
Out of your work on the sphere, what’s one of the best ways for Nigeria to deal with so many rising and reemerging ailments at present ravaging globally?
One of the best ways to deal with any downside is to know the issue. That is step one. That’s the place surveillance is available in. It’s going to assist to know what’s circulating within the nation, the place they’re, their manifestations and what’s transmitting them. These questions have to be answered first. The subsequent query will then be simpler to resolve. It is just then that we are able to discuss growing acceptable vaccines and diagnostic exams, since we all know the strains of various microorganisms which are circulating and inflicting the issue in our nation. That’s the reason surveillance is essential to stemming rising and reemerging ailments.
What do you suppose could possible be the following pandemic after COVID-19?
There isn’t a scientist on this planet that may let you know that that is the following pathogen that can trigger a pandemic and that’s for surveillance to detect what’s circulating in every nation. Each nation should know the ailments which are endemic within the area and determine the ailments that may trigger epidemics or have pandemic potential within the numerous communities to forestall the following pandemic from occurring, and that’s the reason surveillance is essential. If we don’t do that, it’ll depart the world unaware.