Health

Prof Happi Proposes Covid-19 Vaccine Made in Africa For Africa

Published

10 months ago

March 30, 2021

Professor Christian Tientcha Happi is a Professor of Molecular Biology and Genomics in the Department of Biological Sciences, and the Director African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Redeemer’s University.

He holds a BSc in Biochemistry, MSc and PhD in Molecular Parasitology from the University of Ibadan in 1993, 1995 and 2000 respectively.

He did his post-doctoral research in Molecular Biology and Genomics at Harvard University, School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA (2000-2003, ).

He is currently the Director, Directorate of Research Innovations and Partnerships (DRIPs), Redeemer’s University.

He has carried out research focus on Human Genomics, Molecular Biology and Genomics of Infectious Diseases, especially Malaria, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers (Lassa fever, Ebola Virus Disease, and HIV among others.

His laboratory confirmed the first case of Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria in the 2014 Ebola outbreak, and work with Nigerian Health Officials for the successful containment of the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria.

In this interview, he talked about how they developed the rapid diagnostic test kit for covid, which can give result within 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

He also talked about the need to encourage Nigerians to be vaccinated because the COVID-19 vaccine is efficacious and that it has been demonstrated all over the world that people that take the vaccine, protect themselves against the virus infection.

Here is an excerpt from the interview.

Current Research Interest

My research focus is on Human Genomics, Molecular Biology and Genomics of Infectious Diseases, especially Malaria, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers (Lassa fever, Ebola Virus Disease, and others), and HIV.

My current research activities consist of using innovative approaches that combine patient care, fieldwork, laboratory, molecular biology and genomics methods for discoveries that have shifted the paradigm in clinical research and applications in parasites and viral diagnosis, parasites biology and genomics, Pharmacogenomics, and human genomics.

Also, I am passionate about building research capacity and human resource through training and mentoring activities.

Through my research, we have been able to identify molecular markers of antimalarial drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum, the agent of malaria.

We recently discovered new viruses (EKV-1 and EKV-2 and developed new rapid diagnoses for Ebola virus disease (EVD), and Lassa fever virus.

My laboratory confirmed the first case of Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria in the 2014 Ebola outbreak, and work with Nigerian Health Officials for the successful containment of the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria.

Research work in my laboratory contributed significantly to the establishment of the global reference for human genetic variation.

Our research work has also resulted in the identification of new genes associated with human resistance to infection to the Lassa fever virus.

I have been working in the space of infectious diseases in the past 22 years, across west Africa Lassa fever, ebola, monkeypox, yellow fever and covid.

The genomic works that I have been doing over the past 12 years hemorrhagic fever is mainly to understand the nature of the virus and leverage those information and translate it to tools like a point of care diagnostic, also things like a vaccine.

We are also very much involved in capacity building, so we set up one of the best genomic platforms where we are training what we call a critical mass of young Africans so Africa Centre of Excellence for Genomic infectious diseases that I am the founder and director, is to create what we call academic and research environment that transcend national boundaries, where young Africans can actually use that platform to express their God-given talent and then use such platform to do genomics for public health, development of the continent so in so doing, we are basically focusing on training what we refer to as critical mass African scientists that can annex the knowledge and skill, tools of genomics to address problem of infectious disease and specifically control and elimination, eradication of infectious disease.

In addition to that, we are building a new genomic curriculum that applies to infectious disease. Also, we are engaging the public health community in education.

That is what we have been doing in the past decade; overall our goal is basically to build the next generation of what is called African pathogen hunters, doing this in Africa, with Africa in collaboration with friends, colleague and partners outside so that we can stop playing what I call orphans instead of defence.

Because what we see today, is that anytime there is an outbreak or epidemic of diseases somewhere the world start battling, but I think now we need to start thinking of how we can use the skill and knowledge that we have to start uncovering those viruses and develop countermeasures before they come to us.

That is the countermeasure we are taking now and we are going to be leveraging on platform and skill, the talent we are grooming.

Fast track test kit for covid-19?

We can develop one of the fastest rapid diagnostic test kits for covid-19 in the world, before that we did something five days or within a week after the first case of covid was announced in Nigeria, we can come up with e-sub-screening test tools in Nigeria and link that up with other local government and Yaba Hospital.

Then we went on to develop the rapid diagnostic test kit for covid, how did we do that?

We did that because we were the lab that reconfirmed the very first case in Lagos that was tested by PCR, NCDC sent the sample to us and we can confirm it.

We did that speedily. We set up the record that nobody is ever able to beat in the world, from sample collection to releasing data on the international genomic platform call G-SET, it took us 72 hours.

This process usually takes weeks but we did it in 72 hours. And it is base on that particular sequence and other sequences that follow that we went on to develop diagnose test kit.

This test kit is faster and cheaper, in which within 10 minutes to 15 minutes you will have the result.

You don’t need to collect a blood sample, just saliva and you don’t need a specialized laboratory.

It is the test that is mostly adopted for Africa because you don’t need a highly specialized lab. It is just like a pregnancy test, another thing is that it targets the virus RNA and it is very precise and specific.

Research funding in Africa?

I don’t think African countries see any value in research, African leaders promised that they are going to dedicate 2 per cent of their GDP to support research but they are not doing it only a few countries like Rwanda are dedicating about 0.5% towards research.

So that is a problem, you cannot make progress, as a nation if you do not fund education and research and that is the reason Africa is over-dependent on other countries for everything.

It’s evident even during this covid-19 when we over-dependent on international communities for everything from PPE, to Vaccine, we are depending on international communities.

Africa’s independence will only come when they invest in research and take responsibility for their problem and when they start to look inward in finding a solution to their problems.

It is obvious that we are at the mercy of different countries we do not produce anything, we are consumers, not producers, which puts us in a weak and vulnerable position.

That is the fact we can’t shy away from. The truth of the matter is, as long as Africa does not invest in research and develop her capacity and addresses her problems, we will continue to be weak and exploited and at the back of the queue.

Research and innovation in addressing our developmental challenges in Africa?

The only way to do that is investment through the private sector and government establishment.

Funding research is not only the responsibility of the government, but the private sector also need to be involved but unfortunately in Africa, private sector investment is nothing on research.

What you see in Africa people that can invest in research refuse to do so, what they do is to go to Harvard or Cambridge to donate, to an institution where their money will not make any impact.

They ignore where they should put their money and go elsewhere because they have an inferiority complex.

If there is any lesson to learn I think they would have seen through this pandemic that it is better to invest in your country than to go elsewhere because during the pandemic everybody was on lockdown and they couldn’t fly around with a private jet.

Investment in research in Africa academic will be very helpful because Africa needs to develop. Secondly, when you look at Africa, one of the reasons why Africa is stagnant is simply because there is no brain circulation in Africa. knowledge does not circulate in Africa.

The reason why I’m saying this is because it’s a shame in Africa that we can’t have Africa research circulating moving from one country to another sharing knowledge. It is easier for African to go abroad to share knowledge than to share with African counterpart.

What are your thoughts about the Covid-19 vaccine?

Firstly, the COVID-19 vaccine is efficacious. And it has been demonstrated all over the world that people that take the vaccine, protect themselves against the virus infection.

The AstraZeneca vaccine that is in Nigeria, we should encourage people to take it. I also understand the fears of the people because this vaccine is foreign so people are afraid.

If anything to go by and the Africa government are listening, is basically that people in Africa are telling them that they don’t have confidence in the vaccine that is coming from outside Africa. And the message is that fund vaccine that will emanate from Africa.

I can tell you that Africans will be more comfortable if they hear that the vaccine emanated from Africa. I hope our government will listen to the masses.

The people are telling our leaders that they are tired of using imported things. Imported vaccines among other things am not against the fact that they are good but the message is that we will trust vaccine made in Africa by our researchers more than what is coming from outside.

That is why you are seeing vaccine resistance and apathy. People want to see what is made by their people so that they will be very comfortable using it.

Misconception about COVID-19?

Covid-19 is real, people should take necessary precautions if we did not respect the safety rules it will be difficult to get rid of this disease even if the vaccine is given out.

Even with the availability of the vaccine, people should continue to protect themselves.

Adapted from Vanguard

Science

LEDs Combined With Copper May Help Develop New medicines, Electronics

Published

5 days ago

January 24, 2022

Staff Writer

Hokkaido University researchers have found a way to use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in combination with a copper-based molecular catalyst to develop a more sustainable way to make key chemical sub-units that have potential uses in pharmaceutical and photo-electronic development.

In a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the scientists explain that the technique they came up with allows them to perform what is known as a cross-coupling reaction, in which two molecules are joined via a carbon-carbon bond.

This is one of the most widely used types of reactions and is essential for creating most of the chemical products used today.

The researchers say that the use of copper—a cheaper and more commonly available metal—as a catalyst for a cross-coupling reaction is a breakthrough in sustainability since this reaction typically relies on the use of precious metals such as palladium.

The new method is also considered advantageous because the copper metal in the molecular catalyst itself absorbs the blue light, rather than needing a separate light-absorbing compound in addition to the catalyst.

This makes the synthesis not only cheaper and simpler to perform, but also easier to control since there are fewer moving parts.

The blue light plays a key role in activating the copper-based catalyst. Theoretical calculations showed that this light exposure causes electrons to move from the metal copper atom to a connected subunit of the molecular catalyst.

This excited state has separated electrical charges, making the catalyst much more reactive and, thus, the researchers were able to use it to carry out a cross-coupling reaction that creates an acyl group, which is useful for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and photo-electronic materials.

A key aspect of this method is that the formation of the acyl group occurs asymmetrically.

This means one of the two possible mirror-image versions of the product molecule is selectively produced, a feature highly desired for the development of new medicines.

The scientists tested their new method with multiple starting materials, notably including a material derived from probenecid, a medicine for gout.

They say the product they obtained from this starting material has potential applications in the pharmaceutical industry.

Implementation of this new method is expected to both provide cost savings and increase the sustainability of the production of a wide variety of chemical compounds with potential uses in medicine and electronics.

“This synthetic method is a breakthrough because it combines two easily obtainable items, blue LED light and copper, to achieve a coupling reaction that did not exist before,” Yusuke Masuda, lead author of the study, said in a media statement.

“Technology that produces useful compounds from resources which are abundantly available on earth is critical for the sustainable development of humanity. I expect this advance will become a milestone in the development of sustainable molecular synthetic methods.”

Health

Pandemic Must End In 2022- WHO chief

Published

1 month ago

December 21, 2021

Staff Writer

The World Health Organization’s director-general has said that the countries across the globe must work towards ending the pandemic in 2022.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Monday in Geneve, “2022 must be the year we end the pandemic.”

As end-of-year festivities approach, the UN health agency chief said countries should rein in national events linked to the holidays because allowing crowds to gather would be a “perfect platform” for Omicron to spread.

It would be better to cancel events now and celebrate later “than to celebrate now and grieve later,” he added.

Omicron was first reported in South Africa in November and has since been identified in dozens of countries, dashing hopes that the worst of the pandemic is over.

‘Really fast’ spread

The WHO has said the heavily mutated variant is spreading at an unprecedented rate.

“There is now consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant,” Tedros said, cautioning that the strain appears to have the ability to double its infections every 1.5 to three days.

“That is really fast.”

In addition to increased transmissibility, early data has shown signs of worrying resistance to vaccines.

There have also however been indications that it is sparking less severe symptoms than previous strains, but WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told Monday’s press conference it was “early days to conclude that this is a milder variant.”

She warned that South Africa and other places reporting lower hospitalization rates from Omicron had been hit hard in earlier waves, so many of the Omicron cases may have been reinfections.

“The variant may be behaving differently in people with prior immunity,” she said.

‘End inequity’

Tedros pointed out that regardless of the variant’s severity, “the sheer number of cases… may overwhelm the health system” and more people could die.

More than 5.3 million people have died since the start of the pandemic, though the true toll is believed to be several times higher.

Amid growing concern over Omicron, many governments are scrambling to roll out vaccine booster shots to populations, with early data suggesting that a third dose offers increased protection against the variant.

But the WHO has repeatedly voiced concern that such booster programs could deepen already glaring inequity in vaccine access between wealthy and poorer countries.

Many vulnerable people around the world are still waiting for a first vaccine dose, and the UN health agency has said it is better to prioritize them over providing fully vaccinated health adults with boosters.

“If we are to end the pandemic in the coming year, we must end inequity,” Tedros said.

Health

World AIDS Day Ends With Call to End Inequalities

Published

2 months ago

December 1, 2021

Staff Writer

‘Dufatanye Turandure SIDA’ is the text message sent to all Rwandans by Rwanda Biomedical Centre as the world celebrates the World AIDS Day.

Every year on December 1st, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease.

Winnie Byanyima Executive Director UNAIDS in her message today said the world agreed on a bold plan that, if leaders fulfil it, will end AIDS by 2030.

“AIDS remains a pandemic, the red light is flashing and only by moving fast to end the inequalities that drive the pandemic can we overcome it,” she said.

She said that without the inequality-fighting approach we need to end AIDS, the world would also struggle to end the COVID-19 pandemic and would remain unprepared for the pandemics of the future. That would be profoundly dangerous for us all.

According to her, the progress in AIDS, which was already off track, is now under even greater strain as the COVID-19 crisis continues to rage, disrupting HIV prevention and treatment services, schooling, violence prevention programmes and more.

“On our current trajectory, we aren’t bending the curve fast enough and risk an AIDS pandemic lasting decades. We have to move faster on a set of concrete actions agreed by United Nations Member States to address the inequalities that are driving HIV.”

“We urgently need sufficient community-led and community-based infrastructure as part of a strong public health system, underpinned by robust civil society accountability,” She added.

Byanyima explained that the world needs policies to ensure fair and affordable access to science. Every new technology should reach each and everyone who needs it without delay, “We need to protect our health workers and expand their numbers to meet our urgent needs.”

“We must protect human rights and build trust in health systems. It is these that will ensure we close the inequality gaps and end AIDS. But they are too often applied unevenly, are underfunded and are underappreciated,” Byanyima said.