Lagos , Nigeria (PANA) – A Nigerian natural products researcher has challenged fellow researchers in areas of health sciences across Africa to explore the use of indigenous medicinal plants to combat and manage the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
“Africa should exploit our medicinal plants more for disease management, because there are a lot of diseases that are coming up like Ebola. We have seen that from researches that have been done, they have been getting good results,” Dr. Joseph Agbedahunsi, International Secretary of West African Network of Natural Products Research Scientists (WANNIPRESS), said in an exclusive interview.
WANNIPRESS is a network of scientists that are working in the areas of natural production like raw materials and getting drugs from some medicinal plants among others.
It has its secretariat at the Drug Research and Production Unit in the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Obafemi Awolowo University in South West Nigeria.
According to Dr. Agbedahunsi, Africa is well blessed with a lot of medicinal plants that can be used to control various other diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, with positive results.
The scientist said WANNIPRESS has challenged its members to intensify efforts in researching medicine to combat EVD.
“Ebola virus is new, but also not new. It’s something we have to challenge ourselves in combating this Ebola virus, getting medicinal plants to fight it.
“But the major thing about Ebola is preventive, good hygienic environment, people should wash their hands at all times. Since it can be transmitted from body fluids, you have to be very careful,” he said.
Underlining international collaboration as an essential factor, Dr. Agbedahunsi said he would plead with various governments and funding agencies to provide more funds for research.
Our various scientists and researchers should work harder in getting solution. We will keep on working. But one thing with viruses is that they keep changing their goal posts. That is why it is difficult to get quick results,” he added.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 4,000 people have died as a result of the EVD, mainly from the West Africa region where Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are the hardest hit countries.
