The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lassa fever

  • 29m Nigerians at risk of Lassa fever – Minister

    29 million Nigerians are at the risk of Lassa fever, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan, has warned.

    The minister also noted that 26 states in the country are exposed to the deadly disease.

    He sounded the warning on Friday at the occasion marking the National Lassa Fever Day celebration in the country.

    The minister also witnessed the presentation of 5,000 safeguard soaps to the ministry by Procter &Gamble.

    He noted that in 2012 alone, the country recorded 1944 cases, with 207 deaths.

    Alhassan stated that majority of the deaths were recorded among the healthcare providers.

    He warned that every case should be well investigated to reduce the fertility among health workers which is put at about 50-80 per cent.

    He tasked health workers on the need to be protected while treating Lassa fever patients.

     

  • ‘UCH treated Lassa fever, not Ebola patient’

    The Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital (UCH), Professor Temitope Alonge has denied speculations that the hospital is treating an Ebola Virus patient .

    Alonge while addressing journalists on Saturday in Ibadan said that the patient who was brought in early hours of Thursday was only discovered to have lassa fever and not ebola as speculated.

    The UCH CMD who acknowledged that both Ebola and Lassa are of the same hemorrhagic fever explained that unlike Ebola, Lassa fever is treatable and manageable. He said the hospital has treated fifteen cases of lassa fever since 2011 with one survivor.
    While allaying  the fears of the members of the public on the false report, the CMD stressed that the arrival of the index case in the country was not what spurred  preparations and awareness against contagious diseases by the hospital.
    “Four days ago, a patient was admitted to West West three after she put to bed. It was observed that she was bleeding continuously after the delivery and there was the fear of what it could be. Test was carried out on her and it was discovered that she had developed fever after delivery. She died while undergoing treatment.
    “Also, there was another case of a young driver who was brought in from Lagos unconsciously in the early hours of Thursday. The nurses on duty had to screen and test him but because he was unconscious, the test had to be conducted extensively. The efforts of the nurses revealed that the patient had jaundice but when assessment commenced, the diagnosis of the blood sample showed lassa fever. Immediately, the patient was moved to the e-tent from the triad bay for necessary treatments, but unfortunately, the patient died at about 8: 45pm Friday”, Alonge said
     
    Alonge who disclosed that the hospital has successfully treated many cases of lassa fever, explained that the patient died as a result of severe complications which he had suffered before being brought to UCH.
    The patient had earlier been rejected by all the hospitals he was taken to in Lagos before the journey to UCH.
    Alonge said supervised  the treatment and situation of the patient before he  died.
    He expressed satisfaction at the level of professionalism and care displayed by medical officers on hand to save the life of the patient, adding that  the doctors displayed high sense of safety and precaution in dealing the case
    “The patient had developed system breakdown before getting to UCH but we tried our best. Our team of Doctors had packaged the corpse according to World Health Organisation, WHO standard on hemorrhagic fever and the relatives have been adequately informed,“ Alonge said.
    Complimenting Alonge’s claim, Dr. Abass Gbolahan, Oyo state epidemiologist, reassured the people of the state that the state is free from any case of ebola. He reassured that the government will be willing to support the families of the lassa victim on the funeral according to WHO standards and such other ways to ensure that the fever is curtailed.

     

  • Lassa fever kills seven

    Seven people, including a doctor, died from Lassa fever, in Bauchi State, between January and December last year.

    The Commissioner for Health, Sani Malami, in a telephone interview yesterday confirmed the deaths.

    “My ministry is on top of the situation,” he said.

    The commissioner said the doctor, who died on December 19, contracted the fever from someone at Bununu in Tafawa Balewa Local Government.

    The doctor, whose name was given as Dr. Felix, graduated from the University of Maiduguri about three years.

    Malami said: “The incident occurred in three local government areas and we recorded seven deaths.

    “We have dispatched health workers with sterilised equipment to curtail the spread of the fever.”

  • Two die of Lassa fever in Ebonyi

    Two people have died in Ebonyi State following an outbreak of Lassa fever.

    Six cases were reported, of which two are dead. Two others are receiving treatment while the other two are undergoing laboratory analysis.

    The state government yesterday urged the Federal Ministry of Health to accelerate the establishment of a virology laboratory in the state for the diagnosis and treatment of the fever.

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr Sunday Nwangele, spoke in Abakaliki, the state capital, when he received a rapid response team of medical experts, which visited the state to curtail the outbreak of the fever.

    The team was led by Prof Sunday Omilabu, a virologist with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

    The outbreak was traced to one of the quarters in Abakaliki Local Government.

    Dr Nwangele said the ministry would sustain the awareness campaign to avoid further outbreak of the disease.

    Prof Omilabu, who was accompanied by other officials of the Federal Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation (WHO), said their mission was to control the outbreak, provide treatment and technical support to the state.

    According to him, the Federal Government is working hard to break the cycle of outbreaks, which often occurs during the dry season.

    The Deputy Director, Health Emergency Response and Disaster Management, Mr John Kehinde, said the team had carried out sensitisation and workshops for clinicians, health workers as well as other groups.

    He said it had also screened over 1,000 hospital records and collected about 46 blood samples for laboratory analysis.

    The team presented drugs and other medical items.

    The drugs include 12,000 rivabrine tablets, 12,000 injections and 100 personal protective equipment, to complement the state government’s efforts at combating the disease.

  • What to do about LASSA fever

    What to do about LASSA fever

    SIR: Lassa fever is an extremely fatal, viral hemorrhagic illness named after Lassa town (in the Yedseram River Valley) in Borno State where it originated in the year 1969. It then spread through West African countries. The virus enters through the bloodstream of the human body, lymph vessels, respiratory tract, and/or digestive tract and can be transmitted to human beings following contamination of broken skin or with the urine droppings of rats that live around homes in rural areas of endemic countries.

    Its symptoms are nausea, bloody vomit, bloody diarrhoea, stomach ache, constipation, hearing deficit, seizures, swallowing difficulty, cough, chest pain, and meningitis, among others. Usually patients who will survive begin to defervesce two to three weeks after onset of disease but patients who have greatest risk of dying usually develop shock, agitation and sometimes grand seizures.

    This kind of disease usually occurs more in the dry season than in the rainy season and it becomes dangerous when the fever is delayed and the symptoms are ignored, hence, the need for immediate check-up and treatment when any of these symptoms are noticed. It is also advised that environments are kept clean this season especially as the heat wave has started to resurface.

    As of January 16, a case of this dreadful disease, Lassa fever, causing three deaths, was confirmed in Benue State. Acting on this, the Federal Ministry of Health donated 4,500 doses of both Ribavirin and Virazole tablets including intravenous drugs to the Benue State government to control the spread of the fever in the state. The warning given by the National Emergency Management Agency in 2012 against possible outbreak of diseases such as cholera, Lassa fever, measles and other skin diseases as a result of the recent flooding that ravaged most states of the federation, readily comes to mind. With the agency’s constant awareness of Lassa fever on its social media platforms, it is really up to everyone to decide whether or not Lassa fever should continually be a threat or not.

    Lassa virus affects approximately 100,000 to 300,000 people in West Africa so we need to be more vigilant and precautious when it comes to the surroundings and littering of the environment. Even if it’s not close to your home, the mindset of “It’s not mine, it’s yours, so why should I care?” should be stopped; we should help each other fight this disease. Keep rodents out of homes and food supplies so that they do not leave droppings on the food; maintain personal hygiene, cover food properly, trap the rats/rodents and keep the home clean. The advantage of sterilizing equipments cannot be over-emphasized in this case and most importantly, for everyone, especially doctors, when in contact with an infected person, wear gloves, masks, laboratory coats, and goggles. Besides, cleanliness is next to Godliness.

     

    • Ojo Adetola

    National Emergency Management Agency, Abuja.

     

  • Lassa fever kills five in Benue

    Five persons have been confirmed dead and 24 others on hospital admission following the outbreak of Lassa fever in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

    Among the dead is a doctor, who was reportedly infected by a patient.

    The others were said to have been referred to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi.

    Commissioner for Health Services Dr Orduen Abunku confirmed the casualties.

    He said there is a “clinical suspicion of Lassa fever in Benue State”.

    The commissioner said a specimen of the virus, which causes the disease, has been sent to a federal laboratory for analysis.

    According to him, those found to have been infected are receiving treatment.