Researchers at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and its partners have commenced Typhoid fever vaccine trials at Agogo in
Researchers at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and its partners have commenced Typhoid fever vaccine trials at Agogo in the Asante Akim North District of the Ashanti Region.
The exercise, the first of its kind in the country, is expected to last for three years before it is extended to other parts of the country.
Speaking to the media after beginning the exercise, the principal investigative officer at the KNUST International Vaccine Institute, Prof. Yaw Adu Sarkodie assured that the vaccines were safe for use.
“We’ve been given the all-clear in-country by the FDA, Ghana Health Service and other stakeholders,” Prof. Sarkodie said.
The University of Cambridge and the European Union are among the partners for the project.
The trial will involve the inoculation of 23,000 children from age 9 months to age 15.
The vaccinated children will then be monitored for three years.
“The most important thing is to make sure the safety profile of the vaccine has been kept, and the children will also mount the necessary immunity”.
Typhoid fever is a gastrointestinal infection caused by bacteria.
It is transmitted from person to person, where an infected or asymptomatic individual with poor hand or body hygiene passes the infection to another person when handling food and water.
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