Plateau Hospital to Commence HIV Vaccine Trial
Daily Trust (Abuja)
July 29, 2002
Posted to the web July 29, 2002
Rakiya A. Muhammad
A vaccine for HIV will soon commence in Plateau Special
Hospital.
The State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Patrick
Dakum who disclosed this to journalists in Jos, said the Chief Medical
Director of the Hospital, Dr. L. Ayuba will be visiting the United States of
America as part of efforts to foster the working relationship with Harvard
University.
He noted that the USA has come up with vaccines that
have been tried in their population and have been found to boost the immune
system.
It has been tried in Mozambique, it has also been tried
in Uganda and what we are trying now is looking at the Nigerian community
whether this vaccines will evoke the same reaction in our own population," the
commissioner asserted.
The Information Commissioner added, "I think with the
growing cases that we have, it is time for Nigeria to be involved."
He disclosed that government has almost completed the
ultra-modern laboratory western blot test that detects the virus within the
weeks of infection, adding that it is being carried out in collaboration with
Harvard University in USA.
Dr. Dakum who described as a threat to the state the
current 8.5 per cent HIV Sero-Prevalance for Plateau State, said government
has recently concluded plan of action for HIV intervention through the state
Action Committee on AIDs.
He expressed the state government's appreciation to the
UNICEF for its support in addressing the AIDS pandemic among young people.