Lassa Fever Kills 80 in Nigeria - NCDC - Confirms 434 Cases from January- December, 2021
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The NCDC has confirmed that about 80 persons of the 434 confirmed cases of Lassa Fever in Nigeria have died.
This means that the homorrhaging disease has about 18% mortality rate. NCDC says, since January 2021, a total of 434 confirmed cases with 80 deaths have been reported from seventeen (17) States and sixty-three (63) Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria.
This contained in a press statement issued by the NCDC and made available to Newsmen, Wednesday.
The NCDC says it has intensified activities for Lassa fever surveillance and response following outbreaks of cases in Nigeria. The Center for Disease Control called on Nigerians to maintain a high level of environmental sanitation, dispose waste properly and to keep food stuffs like rice, beans, garri, maize, corn/maize, etc in a tigtly closed containers.
The statement reads, "On the 8th of December 2021, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was notified of the death of two persons from Lassa fever.
"The first case was a pregnant woman who presented in a health facility in Nasarawa State and the next one, a medical doctor involved in the management of the patient that later sought medical care in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
"In addition, another medical doctor linked to the index case has also been confirmed to have Lassa fever and he is currently receiving medical care in FCT."
The statement adds that, "The Nasarawa State Ministry of Health with support of NCDC has commenced an in-depth epidemiological investigation of the cases to understand the possible source of infection and the extent of spread of the disease. Contact tracing of all the close contacts of the patients has commenced.
Following these confirmations of Lassa fever cases in Nasarawa state and FCT, the NCDC has intensified the activities of the national multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary Lassa fever Technical Working Group (TWG) for Lassa fever surveillance and response in the country. Lassa fever Emergency Operation Centres have also been activated by the affected state and FCT.
"The NCDC sympathises with the families of the patients and the healthcare workers who have lost their lives to the disease.
"Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic illness that is transmitted to humans through contact with food or household items contaminated by infected rodents.
"Person-to-person transmission can also occur, particularly in healthcare settings when there is the absence of or inadequate infection control measures.
"Lassa fever presents initially like any other febrile illness such as malaria, so a high index of suspicion is required especially for attending healthcare workers. Its symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat, general body weakness, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pains, chest pain, and in severe cases, unexplainable bleeding from ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and other body openings. "
It further explained that, "The time between infection and the appearance of symptoms of the disease is 3 to 21 days. Early treatment and diagnosis increase the chances of survival."
Speaking on the prevalence of the disease in Nigeria the disease monitoring body said, "The disease is endemic in Nigeria like in several other countries in West Africa, and most cases are seen during the dry season, often between November and May.
"Since January 2021, a total of 434 confirmed cases with 80 deaths (i.e., a case fatality rate of 18%) have been reported from seventeen (17) States and sixty-three (63) Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria."
Stressing it's increased capacity to deal with the challenges if the disease it said, "Since 2016, NCDC has worked hard to significantly improve diagnostic capacity for the disease.
"Currently, seven laboratories have the capacity to test for Lassa fever in Nigeria and this is coordinated by the NCDC National Reference Laboratory (NRL).
"This has improved active case detection and care for affected individuals which may have gone unnoticed five years ago. In addition, Nigeria through NCDC is participating in the largest ever Lassa fever study supported by Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI) to provide accurate assessment of the incidence of the disease in West Africa.
"This is also geared towards the development of vaccine and therapeutics for Lassa fever.
The NCDC continues to provide support to states through the provision of emergency medical and laboratory supplies and by the deployment of Rapid Response Teams (RRT).
"The RRTs through the State Public Health Emergency Operation Centres (PHEOCs) work with states across all response pillars to strengthen preparedness and response activities.
"This includes outbreak investigation, contact listing and tracing, response coordination, case management, risk communication, and strengthening infection prevention and control practices."
Cautioning Nigerians it put forward that, "Following the recommended One Health approach, the NCDC is working with relevant ministries, departments and agencies and partners to strengthen the capacity of states to effectively manage this outbreak alongside COVID-19 and other diseases of public health relevance.
"Additionally, risk communications activities are ongoing through radio, posters, flyers, and social media. The Federal Ministry of Environment is also implementing a Lassa fever environmental response campaign in high burden states."
It cautions that in order to mitigate the risk of the spread of Lassa fever, the NCDC Nigerians should adopt the following measures:
" 1. Ensure proper environmental sanitation – i.e. keep your environment clean at all times, block all holes in your house to prevent rats from entry.
"2. Cover your dustbins and dispose of refuse properly. Communities should set up dump sites very far from their homes to reduce the chances of having rodents within homes.
" 3. Store foodstuff like rice, garri, beans, corn/maize, etc. in containers that are well covered with tight-fitting lids."
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