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Tag: Lassa fever

  • Lassa fever: Plateau records eight deaths

    Plateau State Commissioner for Health Dr. Kunden Deyin has said the state recorded eight deaths, 13 confirmed cases and 50 suspected cases of Lassa fever from December.

    He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos yesterday that the state began sensitisation and awareness campaigns in the Jos-Bukuru metropolis and in 17 local governments.

    Dr. Deyin said the campaigns were aimed at enlightening the people on how to prevent the disease and ensure it was eradicated.

    Said he: “Lassa fever is transmitted through the urine and faeces of a rat that serves as a reservoir for the Lassa virus.

    “The ministry, through its sensitisation campaign, is making an effort to educate the populace on the importance of keeping a clean environment and on the need to ensure that foods are stored in rodent-proof containers.

    “We also encourage them to desist from drying foodstuffs on the roadside, since rats can urinate and defecate on them.

    “We embark on this social mobilisation because we believe prevention is better than cure.”

    The commissioner said the ministry liaised with traditional and religious leaders to sensitise their people on the importance of promoting good community and personal hygiene.

    He said this was the surest means of discouraging rodents from entering their homes.

    Deyin said the ministry trained 54 laboratory scientists from the 17 local governments to ensure that basic precaution methods were practised. Twenty morticians were also trained on how to decontaminate bodies.

    He said the ministry procured drugs, personal protective equipment and other materials to make sure that standard precaution methods were observed.

  • Lassa fever death toll hits 58

    Lassa fever death toll hits 58

    A total of 58 persons have been confirmed dead by Lassa fever disease outbreak in Nigeria.

    This was out of 83 diagnosed cases in the country.

    Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, gave this figure when he paid a working visit to the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital to inspect Lassa fever facilities at the hospital.

    Ehanire said the federal government was working hard to stop yearly outbreak of Lassa fever in the country.

    He assured that the disease was gradually being defeated.

    According to the Minister: “We have been trying to curtail Lassa fever, which is going down now and Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital is one of the centres of excellence. I came to see the status and how well they are coping.

    “This hospital is one of the centres with special facilities and I came to see how well they are coping.

    “I have seen the equipment and the challenges and we are looking at ways to make sure Lassa fever does not become a yearly occurring problem.”

  • LUTH discharges Lassa fever patient

    LUTH discharges Lassa fever patient

    The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi – Araba, on Friday said that it had discharged its Lassa fever patient who had been in isolation for four weeks.

    A statement which was signed by the Information Officer of LUTH said that the patient had now tested negative to the Lassa fever virus after weeks of receiving treatment.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the first case of Lassa fever in Lagos was diagnosed at the LUTH on Jan. 15.

    It was a 25-year-old student of the Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, Kaduna State, who had contacted the virus before he came to visit his parents at Ifako-Ijaiye area of Lagos State.

    He was admitted in a private hospital at Ifako-Ijaiye on Jan. 9 and was transferred to LUTH on Jan.15 on an account of developing symptoms of fever, sore throat and body ache.

    The medical personnel in LUTH had run a blood test on him of which confirmed that he had Lassa fever.

    The statement said, “It is gladdening to note that the patient has fully recovered and has been discharged having tested negative for Lassa fever virus.

    “When the case was reported, the Lagos State and Federal Governments were intimated and they gave a quick response by providing logistic support including providing the drug (ribavirin) for Lassa fever.

    “The hospital also mobilised its team of specialists including nurses, virologists and medical microbiologists.

    “The patient was managed in an Isolation Centre with other drugs and adequate infection control measures put in place.

    “These included contact tracing and monitoring,’’ it said.

    The statement said that the management of the hospital applauded the Federal Ministry of Health, National Centre for Disease Control and the Lagos State Government for their quick intervention.

    According to it, the LUTH is probably one of the first hospitals in the South West that has successfully admitted, managed and discharged a Lassa fever patient in this current outbreak.

    The statement called on multinational companies, corporate bodies and individuals to support and partner with LUTH to ensure efficient health care delivery to the country.

  • Lassa fever: NDDC begins distribution of kits to nine states

    Lassa fever: NDDC begins distribution of kits to nine states

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), said on Wednesday that it had commenced distribution of kits and equipment to fight spread of Lassa fever in the nine states in Niger Delta.

    This is contained in a statement issued in Port Harcourt by Mr Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, the commission’s Head of Corporate Affairs Unit.

    The statement quoted Mrs Ibim Semenitari, Acting Managing Director of NDDC, as saying that the commission was concerned about high occurrence of the disease in Edo, Ondo and Rivers.

    It said 1,800 pieces of kits, cold chains, sanitizers and personal protective equipment had been donated to the Rivers Central Medical Stores to distribute to patients in Rivers.

    “We will also send kits to other states for prevention measures; so that the disease can be quickly contained if it spreads to other states.

    “Distribution of Lassa fever kits and facilities to store vaccines is part of the commission’s commitments to support the fight against infectious diseases and health challenges in the region.

    “The commission will soon donate mosquito nets to states health ministries which will be distributed to people in rural communities”, Semenitari was quoted in the statement as saying.

    The statement quoted the Rivers Commissioner for Health, Dr Theophilus Odagme, as saying that the kits and facilities would help checkmate Lassa fever and other infectious diseases in the state.

    Odagme said the cold chain facility had increased the state’s capacity to store vaccines and enhance immunisation.

    “We are hoping to explore more ways of collaborating with NDDC in tackling health challenges while delivering quality healthcare services to people of the state,” the statement said.

  • Kano records three Lassa fever cases

    Kano records three Lassa fever cases

    Dr Kabir Getso, Kano State Commissioner for Health, said on Monday in Kano that the state had recorded three confirmed cases of Lassa fever since the outbreak in December, 2015.

    Getso who spoke while addressing newsmen, said two of the confirmed cases were recorded in Garun-Malam Local Government Area of the state.

    The commissioner said that the patients died at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) on Dec. 2, 2015.

    He said that the third confirmed case, a young businessman from Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area, came to Kano from Benue last week.

    The commissioner said that all the contacts were identified and followed up.

    According to him, more than 70 per cent of them have either completed their 21 days follow up or tested negative.

    He, however, said that another two suspected cases were currently on admission at the designated isolation and treatment centre at Yar’gaya Hospital.

    Getso said the State Ministry of Health had taken several control measures to check the outbreak of the disease.

    “The measures include the setting up of rapid response team, establishment of the Lassa fever Emergency Operation Centre and the setting up of the State Committee on the Control of Lassa fever,” he said.

    Getso said the state government had provided personal protective kits and other logistics in the isolation centre for the management and control of the disease.

    The commissioner commended the World Health Organisation for donating some materials for the treatment of the disease.

  • FG now serious with Lassa Fever – ex-VC

    FG now serious with Lassa Fever – ex-VC

    A former Vice Chancellor of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma and Professor of Microbiology, Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor, has said that the Federal Government of Nigeria now appeared serious and willing to listen and provide necessary support at controlling the scrounge of Lassa fever.

    Prof. Agbonlahor who described the inauguration of the National Committee on the Control of Lassa Fever as a step in the right direction said the menace of Lassa fever was an “annual recurrent budget of death for the poor people in Nigeria.”

    He spoke at the weekend while delivering the distinguished Lecture of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), with the title, “Combating Lassa Fever: a National Health Challenge.”

    Agbonlahor noted that for the past 47 years, Nigeria made noise in the name of creating awareness during Lassa fever outbreaks but goes to sleep at the end of each episode.

    He said government of developed countries showed little or no interest to providing financial contribution to Lassa fever eradication because “they look at the disease as a regional problem which is mainly endemic in West Africa”

    According to him, “Despite the thousands of deaths from the fever, Nigeria is still unprepared to contain the disease, waking up every year an outbreak is reported, running like a decapitated chicken in any direction and forgetting about the disease till another year of another outbreak,” he said.

    “There should be accurate epidemiological data on the distribution, rodent typing and rodents’ Lassa viral carriage according to geopolitical zones and states in Nigeria.”
    “We must therefore use infection control measures, such as complete equipment sterilization in hospitals and medical laboratories.

    “Trapping of rodents in and around homes and occasional fumigation can help reduce rodent populations.”

    Earlier in his opening remarks, Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, said the institution has set up a committee to sensitize the university community on ways to prevent the disease and to ‎collaborate with the government, the NGOs on ways to eradicate Lassa fever.

  • One dies of Lassa fever in Ogun

    The Lassa fever patient at the Isolation Centre of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, died yesterday few hours to completing her treatment.

    The victim was infected with the virus after returning from a funeral in Ebonyi State.

    Commissioner for Health Babatunde Ipaye broke the sad news at a briefing, saying the victim, simply identified as Eze, was expected to complete her medication yesterday.

    “The Ogun State government announces regrettably the death of the first case of Lassa fever.

    “We have contacted the family and gotten necessary consent and approvals to bury the remains, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines and national protocol.

    “Eze was admitted into the isolation unit of OSUTH, which is equipped and funded by the government to manage confirmed cases of Lassa fever.

    “Upon confirmation at a private hospital in Ota, Eze received the best medical attention from varying numbers of medical specialists, well trained nurses, volunteer medical officers and several well kitted support staff.

    “The patient received a nine-day course of ribavirine, potent antibiotics, appropriate blood transfusions and necessary psychosocial support.

    “We were only waiting to celebrate the completion of medication today and take a blood sample to confirm cure, when unexpected complications set in on Saturday,” Ipaye said.

    The commissioner added that the deceased’s relatives have been contacted.

    According to the Commissioner, the victim’s father resides in Nasarawa State and has been contacted.

    He confirmed that none of the 121 primary contacts tracked with the first victim has shown any Lassa fever symptom.

    He said another case discovered last Thursday showed that the person entered Abeokuta, the state capital, from Kogi State.

    “Like the first case, she also traveled into Abeokuta from Kogi State. She was said to have traveled to Kogi, her husband’s hometown, for a ceremony.

    “After the ceremony, she spent about two weeks in the state before returning here to meet with her husband, who is a civil servant.

    “She was said to have gone to a primary health centre in Obantoko from where she was refereed to the Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta. The FMC don’t have facilities for isolation, so we were called upon.”

  • Patient dies of Lassa fever in Ogun

    The Lassa fever patient at the Isolation Centre of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, (OOUTH), Sagamu has died at the facility few hours to completing her treatment.
    The victim who came down with virus that causes Lassa fever after returning from Ebonyi state, South East Nigeria, died on Sunday.
    The Ogun state Commissioner for Health, Babatunde Ipaye, broke the sad news Sunday evening during a press briefing, saying the victim, simply identify as Eze, was expected to complete her medication on Sunday before the death occurred.
    “Ogun state government under the leadership of Sen. Ibikunle Amosun announces regrettably the death of the first case of Lassa fever in Ogun state today.
    “We have contacted the family and gotten necessary consents and approvals to bury the remains according to WHO guidelines and the national protocol.
    “Eze was admitted into the isolation unit of OSUTH,which was specifically equipped,strafed and funded by the state government to manage confirmed cases of Lassa in the course of this national epidermic.
    “Upon confirmation at a private hospitals in Ota,Eze received the best medical attention from varying numbers of medical specialists,well trained nurses,volunteer medical officers and several well kitted supportassa staff.
    “The patient has received a nine day course of ribavirine,potent antibiotics, appropriate blood transfusions and necessary psychosocial support.
    “We were only waiting to celebrate the completion of medication today and take a blood sample to confirm cure,when unexpected complication set in yesterday, Saturday 13, February,2016,” Ipaye said.
    Ipaye added that relatives of the deceased were contacted before burial.
    According to the Commissioner, that the victim’s father resides in Nassarrawa state and was also contacted.
    The Commissioner however confirmed that none of the 121 primary contacts tracked with the first victim has shown any symptom suggestive of Lassa fever.
    He said another case case discovered last Thursday revealed that the person had also entered Abeokuta from Kogi state.
    “Like the first case,she also traveled into Abeokuta from Kogi state. She was said to have traveled to Kogi,her husband hometown for a ceremony. After the ceremony,she spent about two weeks in the state before returning here to meet with her husband,who is a civil servant.
    “She was said to have gone to a primary health centre in Obantoko area from where she was refereed to the Federal Medical Centre,FMC,Idi aba ,Abeokuta. The FMC don’t have facilities for isolation,so we were called upon.”

  • Lassa fever: Death toll hits 101

    Lassa fever: Death toll hits 101

    The Lassa fever outbreak in the country has killed 101 people, as West Africa battles to contain a flare-up of the virus, according to data from the nation’s health authorities yesterday.

    Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) statistics showed that reported cases of the hemorrhagic disease — confirmed and suspected — stood at 175 with a total of 101 deaths since August.

    “As at today, 19 (including Abuja) states are currently following up contacts or have suspected cases with laboratory results pending or laboratory confirmed cases,” the NCDC said in a statement.

    Deaths from the virus were recorded in the nation’s political capital, Abuja, Lagos and 14 other states, the NCDC said.

    Although the federal ministry of health had said the virus had been brought under control, there are fears the actual scale of the outbreak is under-reported.

    The NCDC said officials have distributed large quantities of drugs, including Ribavirin tablets and bottles of hand sanitizers across the country to tackle the disease.

    It, however, reported that logistics support and delayed reporting of cases by states are dogging the fight against Lassa fever.

    The outbreak was only announced in January — months after the first case occurred in August — with subsequent deaths reported in 10 states, including Abuja.

    Last year, 12 people died in Nigeria out of 375 infected while in 2012 there were 1,723 cases and 112 deaths, according to the NCDC.

    In neighbouring Benin, at least nine people have died in a Lassa outbreak, with a total of 20 suspected cases, health authorities said Tuesday.

    The number of Lassa fever infections across West Africa every year is between 100,000 and 300,000 with about 5,000 deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    The disease belongs to the same family as Marburg and Ebola, two deadly viruses that lead to infections with fever, vomiting and, in worse case scenarios, hemorrhagic bleeding.

    Its name is from the town of Lassa in Borno State where it was first identified in 1969.

    Endemic to the region, Lassa fever is asymptomatic in 80 percent of cases but for others it can cause internal bleeding, especially when diagnosed late.

    The virus is spread through contact with food or household items contaminated with rats’ urine or faeces or after coming in direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.

     

  • Lassa fever: 110 under surveillance in Ogun

    Lassa fever: 110 under surveillance in Ogun

    The Commissioner for Health in Ogun State, Babatunde Ipaye, has disclosed that the numbers of primary contact with the 28 years old lady with Lassa Fever case in the state has increased from 60 to 110.

    Ipaye who visited the 28 years lady being treated for Lassa fever at an isolated centre within the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, said she is responding to treatment with 38.4 temperature level.

    Dr. Ipaye noted that the pro-activeness of the state government,  the prompt information from the owners of Central Specialist Hospital and Rubee Hospital to the Ministry of Health, aided the quick response which ensured that  the situation did not escalate.

    According to him, the 110 persons placed on surveilance have been given a thermometer each to monitor the level of their temperature with one Surveillance Officer attached to each of them.

    Also, the Senior Registrar Internal Medicine Department (OOUTH), Olaitan Abimbola,  said the lady was brought in a confirmed case of Lassa Fever with temperature of 39. 8 degree Centigrate, adding that by the time she was been administered the required drugs the temperature has reduced to 38. 4.

    She said the persistence abdominal pain, restlessness, breathlessness had gone down drastically, saying that she can now eat and drink with no sign of vomiting, diarrhea and no discharged from any parts of the body.

    “The victim has since place on Revavirin and other drugs and will be monitor until she has completed the 10 doses of Revavirin. Now that she is perfectly responding to treatment and no more abdominal pain, doziness and any other complication after which she will be handed over to the Surveillance Officer for further necessary action,”  Abimbola said.