Nigeria’s Missing Virus Hunters, Although modern virology began with the discovery between 1915 and 1917 of bacteriophages (that is, viruses that infect bacteria , virology only became a discipline on its own in the last 50 years.
The discipline can be divided into the biology of viruses (molecular biology and biochemistry) and viral diseases (physiology, epidemiology, and clinical aspects of virus diseases). One branch deals with the study of the nature and properties of the virus, while the second is focused on the diseases caused by viruses and the interplay of the factors (human, animal, virus and the environment) that result in the emergence and reemergence of viral diseases. Today, a thorough study of virology encompasses the One Health concept. Nigeria’s Missing Virus Hunters, This takes into account the interactions between humans and animals and the environment. The first set of Nigerian virologists was trained outside the country. Local training of virologists started in the early 1970s, at the University of Ibadan. It was the sole training centre for virologists until the late 1990s. Today, there are about 200 virologists in Nigeria. Is this number enough? Answering the question isn’t the same as measuring, for example, the ideal “doctor to patient” ratio. This is because virologists are researchers, so the headline number isn’t the main issue.
Rather it’s whether those trained as virologists are functioning effectively and maximally. Suffice to say that Nigeria needs more virologists given the size of the country, and the number of endemic viral infections prevalent in it. Annually, the country reports severe outbreaks of virus diseases, such as Lassa Fever, yellow fever and measles. You need virolgists to be ahead of the emergence of viral disease outbreaks. But the high cost of equipment and reagents, as well as other facilities for conducting virus studies have limited the output of trained virologists by the Nigerian university system. Currently, the country has more virologists specialising as molecular virologists, rather than experts on the epidemiology and clinical aspects of viral diseases. Nigeria’s Missing Virus Hunters, And poor collaboration between laboratory scientists, epidemiologists and clinicians has robbed Nigeria of getting the needed balance between molecular virologists and those studying viral diseases. There is a disconnect between the study of viruses and the diseases they cause. We have expert virologists with little knowledge of how to control the diseases caused by viruses. Virologists who will be relevant and contribute to improving the health of the society, must use their knowledge and expertise to prevent and control viral disease, otherwise they become a precious ornament of little use to someone dying of a viral disease. Nigeria, a disease ridden society, has no place for virologists who discover a virus but can’t decipher what it does. Or are unable to use their knowledge to mitigate the devastation of a viral disease outbreak.
Source: This news is originally published by allafrica