THE RESURGENCE OF LASSA FEVER   

The health authorities should do more to contain the scourge

It is obvious that many Nigerians are not paying attention to the growing fatality rate of Lassa fever, a deadly disease that took its name from one of our communities. In the past few months, Lassa fever has claimed the lives of dozens of our citizens, going by figures from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC). “There has been an alarming increase in Lassa fever cases and deaths in the last four weeks, signalling the outbreak’s severity,” the NCDC Director General, Jide Idris, disclosed on Monday in Abuja. “Cumulatively this year, we have recorded 9,492 suspected cases, 1,154 confirmed with 190 deaths.”

 It is unfortunate that Lassa fever has been a serious health challenge in Nigeria since it was first diagnosed in Lassa (the village for which it was named) in Borno State in 1969. Even though there have been efforts in the past to contain the scourge, the country has been witnessing frequent outbreaks in recent years. This, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) “could be attributed to reduced response capacity in surveillance and laboratory testing.”  

  Lassa fever is an acute febrile illness which is caused by a virus with an incubation period of between six and 21 days. The

onset of the disease is usually gradual, starting with fever, general weakness, before being followed by headache, sore throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, cough, and bleeding from mouth, nose, etc. However, because the symptoms of Lassa Fever are so varied and non-specific, clinical diagnosis is often difficult,

especially early in the course of the disease. For that reason, steps should be taken by the government, at all levels, to emphasise routine infection prevention and control measures. Healthcare workers should also be advised to always be careful to avoid contact with blood and bodily fluids in the process of caring for sick persons.    

Experts have advised that people should ensure their food (cook

ed or uncooked) is properly covered while regular handwashing should be adhered to always. The bush around the home should also be cleared regularly while windows and doors of the house should be closed especially when it is nighttime. The public should also be adequately enlightened on the dangers posed by rats in their homes. This should be the responsibility of both the federal ministry of environment and that of information that can deploy the National Orientation Agency (NOA) for a public awareness campaign on the issue.    

Against the background of repeated commitments by various stakeholders to prevent a recurrence of this disease, what the current outbreak has shown clearly is that if indeed there have been any preventive strategies, they were not implemented. And if implemented,

 they are not working. We therefore believe that the authorities need to do more if we are ever to rid the nation of the disease that claims the lives of dozens of our citizens on an annual basis. With effective coordination, the current outbreak can be contained quickly before it becomes another national epidemic. But the real challenge is to work towards its total eradication from Nigeria as it has been done in many other countries.

To rid our country of Lassa Fever, we need concerted efforts from all stakeholders to deal with the health challenge. We hope the authorities will take both preventive and long-term measures this time around so that we do not continue to lose our citizens to the virus that has for decades been an emblem of shame.