NCDC, WHO raise alarm as Lassa fever kills 142 in Nigeria since January
- Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported that 142 people has died of Lassa fever since January
- The World Health Organization (WHO) said the epidemic had reached record highs and promised to support efforts to curb it and treat infected persons
- The NCDC said the southern states of Edo, Ondo and Ebonyi were worst-hit
In its recent report, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed that Lassa fever has killed 142 people in Nigeria since the start of 2018.
The agency said this on Thursday, April 5, reporting a rise of 32 fatalities in one month. It reported: “Since the onset of the 2018 outbreak, there have been 142 deaths. Cases have been recorded in 20 of Nigeria’s 36 states, Vanguard reports.
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“Eight states have exited the active phase of the outbreak while 12 states remain active,” it said. On March 6, the NCDC reported 110 deaths in 18 states."
In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the epidemic had reached record highs and promised to support efforts to curb it and treat those affected. The NCDC said the southern states of Edo, Ondo and Ebonyi were worst-hit.
The report also said: “WHO and NCDC have scaled up response at national and state levels.” Lassa fever belongs to the same family as Marburg and Ebola, two deadly viruses that lead to infections with fever, vomiting and in worst-case scenarios, haemorrhagic bleeding.
The name comes from the town of Lassa in northern Nigeria where it was first identified in 1969. The virus is spread through contact with food or household items contaminated with rats’ urine or faeces or after coming into direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
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Preventing the disease involves enhanced hygiene and avoidance of all contact with the rodent. More than 100 people were killed in 2016 in one of the nation’s worst outbreaks of the disease. It affected 14 states, including Lagos and Abuja.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said it had recorded a fresh case of Lassa fever in the territory, bringing the number of confirmed cases to three within three months.
Legit.ng gathered that the director of public health in the health and human services secretariat in FCT, Humphrey Okoroukwu, disclosed this on Friday, March 23, in Abuja.
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Source: Legit.ng
