Nigerians have been urged to take rats’ control seriously, as it will assist in the elimination of lassa fever.
Lassa fever is a zoonotic virus infection, meaning that humans become infected from contact with infected animals
According to a psychiatric nurse at Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Mrs Racheal Adagunodo, it is necessary because Lassa fever is a threat to health and the economy.
Mrs Adagunodo said the vector for Lassa fever is the multi-mammate rats. Explaining that this natural host for the virus – the multimammate rats (mastomysnatalensis), which breed frequently and are distributed widely throughout West, Central, and East Africa are the common rodents in tropical Africa, and they are found predominantly in rural areas and dwellings more often than surrounding country side.
“It is found in urban settings where the level of hygiene is low. Member of this genus is infected persistently and shed the virus in their excreta and other body fluid throughout life,” she said.
On how to prevent the vector from transmitting the virus, Mrs Adagunodo said people should be educated on proper ways of food processing. “Stop drying food beside roads, e.g. cassava produce, grains etc.), ensure that cooked or uncooked foods are adequately covered, ensure regular hand washing with liquid soap and antiseptics, ensure furniture surfaces are cleaned with disinfectants, e.g., tables and floors, doors and windows should be closed, especially at night, if not possible, a net should be used,” she said.
All medical professionals should wear protective gadgets when treating people infected or suspected to be having lassa fever. “Wear mask one meter before reaching the patient. Anybody, who showed symptoms of lassa should report to the hospital immediately. General cleanliness of home environments should be maintained. All waste bins should be tightly closed. Avoid unnecessary handshakes and contacts with anybody fluids of other people,” she warned
She also warned that lassa fever as a health condition cannot be determined facially but by testing the blood of the infected or suspected individuals, adding that it is through laboratory diagnosis by using enzyme, such as immune sorbent serologic assays (ELISA) Incubation Period.
“The incubation period is from one to 21 days (three weeks). It affects both male and female, and it’s common in the dry season than wet season. Lassa fever is difficult to diagnose clinically, but should be suspected in a patient with a fever greater than 38c, and if such a patient failed to respond to anti-malaria and antibiotics drugs,”she said.
Mode of transmission, according to her, is when humans become infected with lassa virus from exposure to the droppings of infected mastomy rats; through contacts with contaminated food, drinks, and items within or around human, e.g. eating plates; through humans by direct contact with blood, urine, feaces or other body fluid of infected human.
“In the health care setting where the virus may be spread by contaminated medical equipment such as needles, it can be transmitted sexually through semen. It could be transmitted through breast milk from an infected mother to her child. It can be inhaled from dry surfaces or infected dust. By eating the multi-mammate rat (Mastomys natalensis) as it is a delicacy in some parts of Nigeria.
“Also, cough, a sore throat, pharyngitis, retrospinal pain, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, pink eye (conjunctivitis), swelling of the face, protein in urine, tremor are some of the clinical factors to watch out for,” explained Adagunodo.
She said if the vector is not controlled, there could be untold economic effects, the economy effects, according to Mrs Adagunodo, drawing on past experience the multimillion-naira cassava flakes (gari) processing company was short down temporarily for fear of individuals contracting lassa fever through the consumption of cassava flakes; so gari consumption dropped, adding, “Gari could not be exported, as this affected both internal and external revenue generation.”
Mrs Adagunodo said gari business was not the only business that could be affected as millions of naira were spent by the government to get the protective gadget for clinicians, who care for people with lassa fever.
“This money, if channelled to other parts of the health sector would have improved our health care facilities tremendously. This applies to training and retaining of staff to enable them prevent and manage the diseases effectively, for example, the epidemiology and laboratory training program to support and manage lassa fever by the ministry of health.
“In addition, drug of choice in the treatment of lassa fever ribavirin is expensive, and families are affected financially as there are reports that in some lassa treatment centres treatment are not free. Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria is putting out investors, who would have come to invest in Nigeria’s economy. Families spend more money on rodenticide compared to two years before the outbreak.