Nigeria, Jan. 16 -- A candidate vaccine for Lassa fever has entered its first human trials in the United Kingdom, raising hopes for improved prevention of a disease that continues to cause recurrent outbreaks annually in Nigeria and across West Africa.

The development was disclosed during an interview with PREMIUM TIMES involving global health officials and researchers leading Lassa fever vaccine development.

The experimental vaccine is being developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, a UK-based research institution, with support from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global health organisation that funds vaccine development for epidemic-prone diseases.

The ongoing trial is a Phase one study desig...