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Tag: Lassa fever

  • ‘Osun has kept Lassa fever at bay through massive surveillance’

    Massive surveillance, intensive enlightenment campaign and rapid response initiatives, among other proactive measures, have been advanced as the reasons why  Osun State has remained Lassa fever- free.

    According to the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Rafiu Isamotu, these  simple measures are how the state has protected its residents from the bane of Lassa Fever.

    The commissioner, who described the achievements of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the last seven years within the health sector as unprecedented, said such initiatives as the School Feeding Programme, Save One Million Lives Initiative, Mama Kit, Distribution of Safety Mosquito Nets, Empowerment of Surveillance of Officers, among others, have helped in no small measure.

    Dr Isamotu spoke in Lagos at an interactive session with journalists.

    According to him, the governor’s commitment to the school feeding project is uncommon and deserving of commendation from Nigerians, saying in spite of the dwindling resources, the governor has insisted the programme must be accorded priority.

    He said: “Osun has been fortunate enough to keep at bay the challenge of Lassa fever. But then, we have had our own share of it. The mandate from the governor is that we must be preventive and not just curative. So, we have our surveillance officers all over the state, so that if there is any suspected case of any disease, they notify us within 24 hours. We have the state epidemiologist who is always at alert coordinating the surveillance officers. And of course, we have our effective Director in charge of Public Health who is working assiduously to keep things right.

    “For instance, when we had a case of someone who died of the disease, we traced the patient to Ore, in Ondo State where he was being attended to before finding his way to Ile-Ife where he attended Seventh Day Adventist Hospital on January 29, and was referred to OAU Teaching Hospital on January 30 and died same day. Of course, the sample taken confirmed Lassa fever and we ensured that we traced all the 34 cases that had contact with him at the two hospitals. So everyone is fine.”

    The commissioner also appealed to the residents of the state to continue to pray for the Aregbesola-led administration, saying he has pledged that till his last day in office, he will ensure that his campaign promises are fulfilled.

    He further said: “What I always ask people is that how many states still run the school feeding project till date? Even some states that started it less than two years ago have dropped it because it is money-consuming. But because we have seen the result in terms of school enrollment increase, retention in schools and because it addressed the issue of stunted growth among the school-aged pupils, the governor has insisted we must run it.

    “Also, look at the massive infrastructural work in the state capital and other places, we need to understand that this administration has done well to deserve commendation from Nigerians. Most of the facilities put in place today may not be appreciated until many years to come.”

    ‘’Even without any outbreak, we have our usual health talks on television, radios and to encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle and keep things that could attract the kind of rats that could attract lassa fever, it is the bush rats with multiple breast, known as emo among the Yoruba’’.

    On  how prepared  the state is to address emergency cases,  he said:   “we have our isolation centres already prepared for emergencies and within our hospitals, we have designated some wards as isolation centres before they are transferred to the main isolation centre. We also have the PPE, the P­rofessional Protective Equipment, and the governor  has also just released the funds for the purchase of more PPE aside those supplied by the Federal Government’’.

  • Lassa fever kills three in Ekiti

    •Five out of eight persons tested positive

    A fresh outbreak of Lassa fever has reportedly killed three persons in Ekiti State, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Rotimi Ojo, has said.

    Ojo, who addressed reporters yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, said five of the eight suspected cases tested negative while one was uncertain and the last one pending at press time last night.

    The commissioner said the government was taking proactive steps in its surveillance involving the residents because some cases and deaths had been recorded in neighbouring states.

    He assured the residents that the State Disease Control team had been alerted while the process of sensitising the people with jingles, adverts and other communications media were ongoing.

    Ojo said similar actions taken during the 2016 outbreak were successful, adding that the epidemic was controlled and the identified patient, who was properly managed, survived.

    According to him, the three isolation centres at Ido Federal Teaching Hospital in Ido-Ekiti; Oba Adejugbe General Hospital, Ado-Ekiti and the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital in Ado-Ekiti were still operational.

    The commissioner urged stakeholders, including health practitioners, teachers, traditional rulers, religious leaders as well as community and opinion leaders, to join hands with the state government to prevent the spread of the disease.

    He advised the people to avoid self-medication and keeping sick people at home.

    Ojo noted that any unusual increase in temperature or fever must be reported to the nearest health facility.

    He stressed the importance of environmental sanitation practices and general cleanliness, saying hand-washing, good food storage as well as practice and enforcement of infection prevention and control at various health facilities should not be compromised.

     

  • ‘Nigeria loses 800,000 children due to lack of immunisation’

    ‘Nigeria loses 800,000 children due to lack of immunisation’

    The Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation ( GAVI ) on Thursday said no fewer than 800,000 unvaccinated children had died in Nigeria in the last five years.

    Dr Seth Berkley, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GAVI, made this known during a stakeholders meeting in Suleja, Niger.

    GAVI is a public-private global health partnership committed to increasing access to immunisation through provision of vaccines across the globe.

    Berkley who said a recent survey had revealed that Nigeria had only 30 per cent coverage of immunization added that the figure differed from what some health workers had always presented.

    The CEO said that children unnecessarily died because they were not vaccinated, pointing out that his organisation was working hard to strengthen routine immunisation in the country.

    He said that lack of children’s access to routine vaccination caused outbreak of diseases such as monkey-pox, Lassa fever, measles, meningitis and yellow fever.

    According to him, government and other stakeholders must work hand-in-hand to accelerate and strengthen routine immunisation.

    Berkley noted that traditional ruler could help in ensuring children access to vaccination because they were close to the people.

    The chief executive officer of GAVI decried non usage of vaccine being provided by his organisation for immunization in some quarters.

    “If we supply vaccines and people do not go to the health centres to take them, the essence of providing such will be defeated.” he said.

    Dr Faisal Shuaibthe, Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said it was imperative for the country to do the right thing and ensure all her children were immunised.

    Shuaib said that how well leaders provided health care to their people determined the future of the children in such communities.

    He tasked local governments and traditional rulers to supervise and monitor the activities of primary health care facilities in their areas.

    The executive director disclosed that his agency had designed a template to monitor and evaluate immunisation quarterly to ensure improvement on current situation.

    He said the National Emergency Routine Immunisation Centre had been established to strengthen routine vaccination in the country.

    Reacting, the Emir of Suleja, Muhammad-Awwal Ibrahim, pledged commitment of traditional rulers in the state to tackle the challenges facing vaccination of children.

    Ibrahim said that immunisation must be taken seriously to prevent children from dying unnecessarily.

    “We, the traditional rulers have the passion to do what is expected of us to tackle our health challenges” he said.

    NAN

  • Lassa fever death toll hits 110

    Lassa fever death toll hits 110

    Lassa fever has claimed 110 lives in Nigeria since the beginning of the year, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said yesterday.

    The World Heath Organisation last week said the epidemic had reached record highs with 317 laboratory confirmed cases and 72 people dead.

    “Since the onset of the 2018 outbreak, there have been 110 deaths: 78 in positive-confirmed cases, 8 in probable cases and 24 in negative cases,” the NCDC said in its latest report.

    A total of 1 121 suspected cases were reported, “353 are confirmed positive, 8 are probable, 723 are negative (not a case) and 37 are awaiting laboratory results.”

    The NCDC said cases have been reported in 18 of Nigeria’s 36 states while 16 health workers had been affected in six states.

    Health Minister Isaac Adewole told local media on Tuesday that the government would soon take delivery of vaccines to tame the virus.

    “We are doing everything possible to fight and address the outbreak of lassa fever on all fronts,” he said.

    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.

    More than 100 people were killed in 2016 in one of the nation’s worst outbreaks of the disease, affecting 14 of the 36 states, including Lagos and the capital Abuja.

    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.

    The Bauchi Government said yesterday that Lassa fever had killed three people in the state. It also recorded 25 suspected cases in seven local government areas.

    Chairman of the state Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSPHCDA), Alhaji Ibrahim Gamawa, said:.

    “Healthcare workers in health facilities are particularly at risk of contracting the disease.

    “Especially where infection prevention and control procedures are not strictly adhered to,’’ he said.

    The chairman listed the affected local government areas as Alkaleri, Bauchi, Bogoro, Dass, Tafawa Balewa, Toro and Warji.

  • FG set to get vaccine to tackle Lassa fever

    FG set to get vaccine to tackle Lassa fever

    The Federal Government on Monday said it would soon receive vaccine to check the spread of Lassa fever in the country.

    The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, made this known to newsmen after the signing of a joint approval of the biennium WHO Programme Budget of 2018 to 2019 in Abuja.

    Adewole explained that before the end of the year, the government would receive vaccine to address the outbreak of Lassa fever in the country.

    The minister said that he had summoned the Commissioners for Health in the five states affected by Lassa fever to get an update on the situation in their states.

    According to him, the meeting will take place on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The minister listed the affected states as Ondo, Ebonyi, Edo, Nasarawa and Imo.

    Adewole commended Ondo and Ebonyi State Governments for being outstanding in tackling Lassa fever in their respective states.

    “We are doing everything possible to fight and address the outbreak of Lassa fever on all fronts,” he said. (NAN)

  • Ghana records first death from Lassa fever in 2018

    Ghana records first death from Lassa fever in 2018

    The death was recorded at the General Hospital in the port city of Tema, 38 km east of the national capital, a senior official of the Ghana Health Service ( GHS ) confirmed on Thursday.

    Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director-General of the GHS, said all the frontline staff at the hospital that handled the patient before he died are being screened.

    Also, further investigations to trace the background and all contacts of the deceased are being pursued to prevent the spread of the virus.

    He said his outfit has put in place interventions to control the spread of the disease and has maintained high surveillance and issued alerts to all health institutions across the country.

    In February, the GHS cautioned citizens not to create an enabling environment for rats to invade their homes amid a looming threat of an outbreak, ordering all health facilities to be on high alert following the outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria.

    Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever known to be endemic in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria.

    Ghana recorded its first confirmed case of Lassa fever in 2011, with two districts reporting outbreaks.

    Xinhua/NAN

  • Lassa fever claims one life in Abuja 

    Lassa fever claims one life in Abuja 

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Thursday confirmed the death of one person in the two cases of Lassa fever recorded in the territory.

    Dr Humphrey Okoroukwu, the Director of Public Health in Health and Human Services Secretariat, FCT, confirmed this in an interview in Abuja.

    Okoroukwu explained that the other victim has been treated and discharged from the hospital, adding that two cases were recorded at Bwari Area Council of the FCT.

    He said that though, before the laboratory confirmation, they were placed on treatment but one of the victims could not make it.

    “Once we have any suspected case, we commence treatment immediately before the laboratory result comes out,” he said.

    The director urged the residents of FCT not to panic over the development but rather take their personal and environmental hygiene seriously.

    Okoroukwu urged residents to imbibe regular washing of hands, keep their environment clean and dispose their domestic waste to avoid rats.

    Read Also: NMA educates market women on Lassa fever in Osun

    NAN

  • ‘One person dies of Lassa Fever’

    ‘One person dies of Lassa Fever’

    The Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (PHDA), Adamu Ibrahim Gamawa, has said only one person died of Lassa Fever in the state.

    According to him, the victim was from Wandi village in Dass Local Government Area.

    He said: “Only one person died last week in Dass council, the others were not last week.

    “A little boy in Dajin, Tafawa Balewa council, and another at Kufai, Toro council, also died, but at different times.

    “Between October 2017 and February 2018, 41 suspected cases were recorded, which have been sent for laboratory confirmation and results are being awaited.”

  • Edo records 521 suspected cases of Lassa fever

    Edo records 521 suspected cases of Lassa fever

    Dr Osamuwonyi Irowa, the Director of Disease Control, Edo, says the state has recorded 521 suspected cases of Lassa fever this month.

    Irowa disclosed this at the inauguration of the Emergency Operation Centre on Lassa fever in Benin on Wednesday.

    He said 124 cases have been confirmed out of the 521 suspected cases recorded in 13 local government areas of the state.

    The director also said 15 deaths were recorded with 509 cases under surveillance, while 10 suspected cases had developed symptoms.

    Read Also:  PDP presents anti-grazing bill to Edo Assembly

    Inaugurating the centre, the Deputy Gov. of the state, Mr Phillip Shaibu, said that the Lassa fever response mechanism was aimed at ensuring a coordinated control of the epidemic.

    He charged the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to encourage volunteers to support their staff for effective control of the disease.

    He assured that the state government was working towards building isolation centres to decongest the patient population at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital.

    NAN

     

  • Lagos on red alert over Lassa fever

    Lagos on red alert over Lassa fever

    Lagos State Government said it is maintaining relevant surveillance activities through its disease surveillance unit to prevent the spread of Lassa fever in the state.

    Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris, said in a statement that prevention and control of the disease, however, remains a shared responsibility of all citizens.

    “Isolation wards have been prepared to manage suspected and confirmed cases, health workers have been placed on red alert and community sensitisation activities intensified.

    “There is need the public to ensure and maintain adequate personal hygiene and environmental sanitation at all times as part of prevention and control measures against the spread of Lassa fever in the state,’’ Idris said.

    The commissioner urged the public to store house-hold refuse in sanitary refuse bags or dust bins with tight-fitting covers to avoid infestation by rats and rodents.

    He also urged people to dispose refuse properly at designated dump sites and not into the drainage system and store food items in rodent-proof containers.

    According to him, by so doing, a habitable and conducive environment, and a disease-free state can be achieved.

    “Members of the public are further advised to avoid contact with rats and to always cover their food and water properly.

    “Cook all your food thoroughly, as well as block all holes in the septic tanks and holes through which rats can enter the house and clear rat hideouts within the premises,’’ he said.

    The commissioner urged health workers in public and private hospitals to ensure they observed universal safety precautions and complied with infection prevention and control measures when dealing with patients.

    He also stressed the need for workers to wear appropriate personal protective equipment like hand gloves, facemasks, goggles and overalls when attending to cases.

    “Safety boxes should be used for collection of used needles and syringes and general medical waste must be properly sorted out in colour-coded bags and disposed in line with international standards.

    “Hands must be washed often with soap and running water or application of hand sanitisers after each contact with patients or contaminated materials and instruments must be autoclaved.

    “Also hospital mattresses must be covered with plastic sheets to prevent contamination.

    “The plastic sheets must be large enough to cover the entire mattress, be waterproof, and be thoroughly disinfected after discharge of patients,’’ Idris said.

    According to him, Lassa fever is an acute viral infection caused by the Lassa virus that is associated with symptoms such as persistent high fever, general weakness of the body, malaise headache, sore throat, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting.

    He said that the disease could progress into a severe form where the patient develops facial swelling, fluid in the chest.

    He said also that the patient could develop bleeding from the mouth, nose and the gut; low blood pressure, shock, disorientation, coma, and kidney and liver failure.