Dr.
Jide Agbede of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology,
University of Ilorin, who leads a multi-disciplinary research team on the study,
disclosed this in an interview with Unilorin Bulletin.
According
to Dr. Agbede, “Hepatitis “C” virus is a very deadly viral disease that has
propensity to cause cancer of the liver as carriers advance in age”. He said
that the infection is not easily diagnosed because not everyone with the virus
expresses the symptoms. The symptoms are Gastro Intestinal Tract (GIT)
infections and abdominal discomfort.
The
medical researcher explained that “it is when people need to donate blood for
blood transfusion purposes and the donor's blood is screened that the virus is
often discovered”, adding that “even at that, only those who have passed the
'window period' are discovered”. He explained that the 'window period' is a
time between when the virus gets into human body unnoticed and the time when
existing diagnostic technology can fish it out”.
He
said, “Our research is to identify the core antigen, along with its antibodies.
An antigen is any substance like chemicals, bacteria, viruses, pollen or even
bacterial toxins or tissue cells that causes the immune system to produce
antibodies against it while antibodies, also called immunoglobulins, are large
Y-shaped proteins, which function to identify and help remove foreign antigens
or targets such as viruses and bacteria. Every antibody recognises a specific
foreign antigen.
“So
if a carrier of the Hepatitis “C” virus, for instance, donates his blood for
blood transfusion, because existing diagnostic method does not capture infected
people at the window period, the laboratory technologist will transfuse the
blood into the blood bank or to another person ultimately and he will be
blameless”.
“Our
effort is to track the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) - a self-replicating
material which is present in nearly all living organisms as the main
constituent of chromosomes which is the carrier of genetic information-of the
virus on the infected person. We also note the substance produced by the virus
in the process of infection”, he said
The
virologist, who is working along with Prof Yisa M. Fakunle of the Department of
Medicine and who until recently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management
Services), Dr. F. Oladiji of the Department of Heamatology and Mr. O.O. Adeyemi
of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, further explained
that the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, is collaborating with the team on
this study and that Mr. Adeyemi is currently at Leeds working on some aspects
of the research.
Source: Unilorin Bulletin
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