Navrongo Health Research Center Completes First Phase of Lassa Fever Vaccine Trials

By: Modupe Adeniyi. Freelance Health Reporter.

Map of Africa, Ghana and Navrongo Municipality in Upper Eastern Ghana

The Navrongo Health Research Center in Ghana has completed initial safety trials of a new Lassa fever vaccine. The phase one tests on 36 subjects showed the vaccine was well-tolerated without concerning side effects.

March 5, 2024. The Navrongo Health Research Center (NHRC) in northern Ghana recently wrapped up phase one clinical trials of a new vaccine against Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic illness found across West Africa. The safety trials conducted in partnership with southern Ghana's Kintampo Health Research Center, demonstrated the vaccine was well-tolerated in healthy volunteers.

As NHRC Director Dr. Patrick Odum Ansah explained, "We didn't see any side effects" after administering the Lassa fever vaccine to 18 participants at each of the two trial sites in Ghana. He said evidence from these first 36 subjects was "quite conclusive for it to be moved on to the next stage."  

Lassa fever affects around 300,000 people each year in West Africa, causing an estimated 5,000 deaths annually. Dr. Ansah called it "one of the epidemic-prone diseases that might come up in the future." Yet historically, "there is no vaccine or drug that can treat or prevent Lassa fever infection," he said.

Developing a protective vaccine for Lassa fever has proven challenging over the years. But as Dr. Ansah noted, "getting to this stage has been over 15 years of hard work, so we are excited." With the vaccine demonstrating safety in initial trials, researchers can now move to phase two studies evaluating its efficacy.  

The NHRC plans to collaborate closely with global health organizations as they analyze trial data and design upcoming protocols. "We hope to develop a protocol for the next phase," Dr. Ansah said. Larger phase three studies would then confirm the vaccine’s safety profile and ability to generate sufficient immunity against Lassa virus.  

For now, Ghanaian researchers must wait on reporting from the phase one trials before progressing to further tests. But successful early results offer hope that an effective Lassa fever vaccine may finally be in sight.

Learn more about Lassa fever from: NCDC . WHO . CDC

Published: March 5, 2024

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