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The
multimamate rat is a carrier of Lassa Fever in West Africa (Science Photo
Library)
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The Federal Government yesterday
confirmed the death of 40 Nigerians in a Lassa fever outbreak in 10 states of
the country. Eighty-six
people were infected in Bauchi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers,
Edo, Plateau, Gombe and Oyo, according to Health Minister Isaac Adewole.
The
Nation report continues:
The
World Health Organization (WHO) defines Lassa fever as an acute
haemorrhagic illness which belongs to the arenarvirus family of viruses, which
also includes the Ebola-like Marburg virus.
Adewole
called the outbreak an embarrassment.
“It
is not the outbreak that is unusual; what is unusual is the large
number of deaths recorded so far and these deaths came largely from three
states; Kano, Bauchi and Niger,” Adewole told reporters yesterday while
giving an update on the situation in Abuja.
He
said the situation in Niger is “worrisome because we had unusual deaths dating
back to August and only came to light about three to four months after and that
represents a breakdown in disease notification system and we are trying to
strengthen this because deaths even when they are unusual should be reported
and we should not have waited for 35 cases in Niger before sitting up and that
is the worrisome part of it.
He
spelt out measures to check the spread of the disease.
These
include avoiding contact with rats and food or objects contaminated with
rats’ secretions or excretion.
Shedding
light on disease, he said: “The onset of the disease is usually gradual,
starting with fever, general weakness, and malaise followed by headache, sore
throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cough, and
bleeding from mouth, nose, vagina and gastrointestinal tract and low blood
pressure.
“The
virus is shed in the urine and droppings of the rats and can be transmitted
through direct contact, touching objects or eating food contaminated with these
materials or through cuts or sores and the incubation period is 6 to 21 days.”
He
asked health facilities across the country to place emphasis on
routine infection prevention and control measures and ensure that all patients
are treated free.
Health
workers seeing patients suspected to have the fever were advised to
contact the following numbers: 08093810105, 08163215251, 08031571667 and
0813505005.
The
first case of the disease was recorded last November in Bauchi state. Cases
were then reported in Kano and other places.
The
Lagos State government on Thursday alerted residents on the need to
observe proper hygiene to curb the spread of the disease.
One
of the Lassa fever deaths occurred in Plateau State.
Consequently,
the authorities have placed a team of medical experts on the red alert to
prevent its spread.
The
disease has been noticed in Jos North, Mangu, Langtang South, Pankshin and
Shendam Local Government Areas.
Health
Commissioner Kuden Kamshak who briefed the press in Jos yesterday said
the state, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), “is
working round the clock to contain the spread of the virus.”
Accordingly,
Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers (DSNO) have been
deployed in each of the 17 local governments in the state to monitor and
manage the health challenge.
The
commissioner urged residents not to panic but remain calm and vigilant, and
to report promptly to the nearest health care facility.
The Niger
State government issued a similar don’t panic advice yesterday on the Lassa
fever outbreak.
Health
and Health Services Commissioner Mustapha Jibril in a statement in
Minna said that measures were being put in place to address
the development as blood samples of those suspected to have been infected had
been taken for laboratory test at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control in
Abuja and Lagos.
He
said: “The Ministry of Health and Health Services has swung into action in
collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, World Health Organization
(WHO) and the local government to bring the situation under control,” Jibril
stated.
The
Commissioner said that his ministry had strengthened monitoring and
surveillance on the affected communities in Fuka ward of Muyan Local Government
area of the state.
He then called on members
of the public with to come up with information on any suspected disease or
death to the nearest health facilities.
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