The authorities have released tips on containing the latest health threat. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration has stepped up to keep the lethal Lassa fever out of the territory.
The Health and Human Services Secretariat released some useful tips on how to effectively prevent the spread of the virus. A carrier of the virus who visited Abuja is said to have died.
The FCT Administration noted that this proactive step has become necessary in order to halt the spread of the virus.
The Administration has urged the residents not to spread foods to dry along the road as well as keeping the houses and surroundings clean by blocking all holes around the houses, clearing all bushes and disposing refuse in covered dustbins.
It has advised the residents to discard all foods partly eaten by rats and tightly seal all animal foods in metal containers.
It also urged the residents to cover all foods and water properly and set traps in and around the house to reduce rat populations.
In the same vain, infected patients should be isolated from contact with unprotected persons until the disease runs out its course.
Apart from avoiding contact with Lassa fever patients’ secretions, residents are advised to wear protective gear such as masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles when caring for patients.
Following the confirmation of the disease in some states, the Health & Human Services Secretariat embarked on measures aimed at preventing its spread in the Territory.
Meanwhile, the FCT Disease Control and Disease Surveillance as well as Notification Officers in the six Area Councils are on high alert as they have stepped up disease surveillance activities within their various localities, especially at the border communities.
The Heads of Health Departments in the Area Councils have already been directed to step up sensitisation in the communities – markets, motor parks, churches and mosques; while the distribution of fliers is ongoing.
Less than two years after the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) shook the country to its foundation, Nigerians have come under another round of palpable anxiety following the outbreak of Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic fever, recently.
Unlike Ebola that was recorded in few states with less than 10 people killed over the long period that the disease occurred in the country, Lassa fever has spread through 17 states killing more than 40 people with over 200 people diagnosed and treated within the few weeks of its outbreak.
The Nation’s investigations revealed that the rising number of casualties and the spread which appears intractable have triggered crippling fears in the minds of the people.
Those who spoke with our correspondent said they have been having bated breath since the outbreak became public, adding that it has compelled them to have zero tolerance for rats in their homes.
Bolaji Amisu, a civil servant, said he has been fear-stricken since the disease was reported in many states.
“I have never had reasons to worry about Lassa fever because it has always come and gone but this particular one is too serious to be ignored. I have decided to stop eating in public places because one is not sure of what must have gone wrong in the course of preparing the food. But the truth is that if you are careful about what you are eating, how do you monitor your children? You wouldn’t know if a friend in the school has given them something that rat has eaten or urinated on. I am always calling my children to remind them that they shouldn’t eat anything outside.
“To save my family from the disease, I have declared war on rats in my house. I started by fumigating the house and later took to buying rat poisons and gum traps. When there is no light to preserve my food in the refrigerator, I make sure that they are properly covered. If by mistake I see my pot open, I will not hesitate to throw the content away. It might be tempting to keep it but it is cheaper to throw it away and avoid any problem.”
Another respondent who gave his name as Okafor Blessing, said the fear of contracting the disease has made him to employ multiple ways of combating rodents in his house. He said: “ I am always buying rat killers and gums every week. When I saw that, that was not enough, I bought a cat to further scare them away. I know that there is no way they could be totally flushed out of the house but I won’t give up.”
Expressing fears about the spread of the disease, Jide Oki, a trader said: “ The fear of rats has become the beginning of wisdom for me because of the Lassa fever. Before now, I could use my hand or leg to crush a rat but I can’t do that again for fear of having contact with the body fluid. I resorted to buying rat killers but the challenge is that the rats don’t dry up after they die.
“Instead, they would start decaying and smelling. I can hardly stand the smell but I don’t have the courage to search for their decomposing bodies. I have been using air freshener to reduce the smell hoping that one day, they will dry up and the smell will stop. I really don’t mind the smell as long as I am killing and stopping them from tampering with my food.”
A resident of Tudunwada Jos, Mr. Habila Joseph, said: “This is not a joking matter, I have declared war against rats in my house. I have rat poison of different types. If there is any rat in my house, that rat is in trouble. I better deal with the rats before the rats deal with my family.”
Rat killer sellers, fumigators smile to the banks
Mr. Rat in Port Harcourt
For rat killer sellers and people who are into fumigation business, the outbreak appears to be a blessing in disguise as they have continued to witness unusual boom in their businesses.
One of the rat killer sellers at Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos State, as part his marketing strategy, said: “ Stop rats or they would stop you. If you don’t know, rats have been killing many people by causing Lassa fever. If you fail to kill them, they will wipe out your family.”
As he was telling the story, people took time to stop and listen to his story. Before he would finish, they would quickly bring out money to buy from him.
In a chat with our correspondent, he said: “ I have never been this blessed since I started this business. I must confess that I have been making huge sales in recent times. I wish the sales could continue because the lull in business activities before the outbreak was terrible.”
In Jos, One of the hawkers, Bala Shuaibu, said: “I was not even aware of any disease until somebody asked me if I have rat poison or rat gum. I said I left them at home because people were not buying them. I told him I’m tired of carrying them. But he said I should go and bring them immediately that people are looking for it. So, I went home to pick them. But to my greatest surprise, before I could reach the man that asked me to bring them, people who saw me with it rushed and bought the whole stock from me.
“I decided to rush to market and buy more, but by the time I got to the market, those warehouses had already sold out their own. I went round several shops in the market, everybody had exhausted their stock. I now asked why the sudden rush for the products? I was told it is because of one disease called Lassa fever”.
A 24-year-old, Umar Musa, who sells pesticides and insecticides at the entrance of the popular Wunti Market, in Bauchi State, said he makes over N30,000 daily since the outbreak of the Lassa fever.
“These days, my customers have increased very well, walahi. Some are people living in the town, others are from villages. They come to buy our chemicals to go and kill rats so that they will not die of Lassa. I am really happy and pray that my business will continue to thrive but I don’t pray that Lassa fever should continue.”
His colleague, Chibuzor Anikwe, who sells rat killer at Muda Lawal market, also spoke about how the outbreak which he described as a bad development has brought a sudden boom to his business. I am thinking of opening branches at Yelwa and other places now that there is good business.”
Segun, a rat killer seller in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), likened the present state of his business to engaging in black-market business during fuel scarcity. He said: “Those who never reckoned with rat sellers are now forced to look for us.It is an opportunity to make legitimate money. What I have sold in the last one week is the double of what I used to sell in a whole month”.
Jacob, one of the sellers in Port Harcourt said: “Although I do not know much about the Lassa fever, but people are buying rat killers so much this period. Since the news of the rat disease broke in December, rat killer medicines have been in such high demand that I sell over 50 of the rat gum every day, but the price has remained between N100 (the poison in wraps) , N200(the gum on cardboard paper/rat bible) and N500 for the rat poison in packet).
It was, however, a different story for Nneka Chide, who sells garri at Muda Lawal market and her colleagues as the number of people who patronise has drastically reduced.
“This Lassa fever has stopped many people from buying garri from us. I returned from the east with eight bags of garri and only sold three, because of the announcement on radio and television that people should stop drinking soaked garri. I am now recording huge losses instead of making profit and if the garri stays for a long time, it will go bad.”
Abibat, a seller of the product in Lagos, said: “Please, tell the government and the people to change their announcement because people are not buying garri as they used to do before. I often tie garri in small nylon bags that sell for N20. A lot of people used to buy and soaked it but since they made that announcement, they have not been buying it again because they are afraid. It is not true that people will die if they drink soaked garri. They should not spoil our business because we have no other source of income.”
Rats are our co-tenants- Residents of shanty communities
Residents of shanty communities, who spoke with The Nation, described rats as their co-tenants, saying that there is little or nothing they can do to get rid of them.
Mati, a resident of Ijora area of Lagos State, said buying poison to kill rats is a waste of time, adding: “Lassa fever cannot affect us in this area because there is no angle you don’t find rats. It is only someone that is ready to waste his money that would go about buying rat killers or traps. If you kill all the rats in your house this minute, be certain that more than that number will invade your house the next minute because the rats are too many. We have big rats but the small ones are too many. They are very fast and difficult to kill. If you see it now, before you say Jack Robinson, it would have vanished and reappeared elsewhere.”
Balqis Ojeniran, another resident of the area, said: “Our environment is not where you can use such things to kill rats. The number of rats in the community is almost more, if not more, than the number of human beings living in the area. When you are eating, you will see at least two of them standing in strategic corners waiting for their turn. We eat and dine together.”
The situation was also the same at Makoko where residents said the rats in the area are incomparable with those in other areas.
Mama Bose, a fish seller, said: “ I can never use my money to buy rat killers. The rats we have here are detectives. They can differentiate between food items that have been poisoned and the ones that are healthy for them to eat. I have tried on different occasions to decimate them using rat killers but they refused to touch them; not even one of them ate the poison that I dropped all over and I ended up sweeping them away after some time. I guess the rats are used to eating fish and would not eat anything that is less delicious.”
We’re not aware of Lassa fever, says aged Nigerians
In spite of reports about the havoc the disease has been wreaking across the country, some aged Nigerians who spoke with The Nation said they were not aware of the outbreak. They called on the government and the relevant agencies to always device means of passing information about such critical issues to the people at the grassroots.
Alhaji Salami Yussuf, an 73-year-old trader, said the information was new to him. He said: “I didn’t know anything like Lassa fever before now. I am surprised that you are saying that such a lethal disease is in circulation. It triggers fears because we all live with rats. It is a serious matter and we hope the relevant authorities would always do everything possible to get information about this kind of issues down to us.
“Although, I have long learnt to always keep food away from rodents, I will intensify efforts in ridding my apartments of rodents. I will use the combination of rat poison and traps in flushing them out.”
He was not left alone in this as 70-year-old Jimoh Aweda also said he wasn’t aware of the outbreak. “It is shocking to know that such a disease is in town. I am afraid because rats are all over the place and that makes it very dangerous. There is no how one would hear about something that could cost him his life and not be afraid. The government should have gone beyond the use of radio and television to disseminate such an important message because it is not everybody that has access to them. If not that you mentioned it to me, I wouldn’t have known that such exists. It will not stop me from taking garri but I would always check to make sure that it doesn’t have rat’s feaces or urine”.
Also speaking, Madam Iyabo Jimoh said: “I am not aware of Lassa fever. I don’t have a radio set to know what is happening. I must confess that I have heard people saying that we should avoid rats but they didn’t say why we should do that. That did not make any meaning to me because I have always had nothing to do with rats. I am happy that you have enlightened me about it. I will certainly take the necessary precaution in protecting my food and every edible in the house. In fact, I will launch a total war on the rats in my house and make sure that everything that could make them come into the house is adequately taken care of. If eating soaked garri will bring problems, I will do away with it. It is better not to drink soaked garri than to eat a contaminated one and develop health problems”.
“I had no information about Lassa fever. All I know is that different people in my neighbourhood have been saying conflicting things about rats. This made me not to pick interest in asking them questions about it because their stories would not be the same. This is the kind of problem that would always occur when information is not coming from the right source. The earlier the government and the relevant authorities begin to allow information to get to all nooks and crannies of the country to save the lives of poor people that have no access to information,” 74-year-old Alimo Yussuf said.
Medical experts speak
Aside from the anxiety generated among individuals by the disease, findings showed that it has also taken different dimensions among medical personnel.
In Rivers State, the Commissioner for Health, Theophillus Adagme, said no fewer than 250 persons, mostly medical personnel, have been placed under surveillance in the state. At present, one medical worker from the BMSH is on admission in one of the three treatment centres made ready in the state.
In Bauchi State, there seems to be a sharp disagreement between the state government and the management of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) , Bauchi, over the casualty rate of the rampaging dreaded Lassa fever in the state.
The Bauchi State government had on January 10,2016,said the state had Lassa fever victims only last year, contrary to the assertion by the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, that it is one of the states the disease has been ravaging.
A Permanent Secretary in charge of the state Ministry of Health, Dr. Saidu Aliyu Gital, had said: “ The first Lassa fever in the state was between March and December 2012. Six suspected cases were recorded, out of which five died.
Between January and December 2013,27 suspected cases were reported,10 died, while 17 were treated and discharged. In 2014,30 cases were recorded out of which six died and others were treated and sent home.
“In 2015, from January to December,14 cases were received, six were confirmed cases, three died but others went home healthier. Those three died, however, between November and December, 2015.”
But a source close to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), who responded to our enquiries after five visits to the hospital, said: “As I am talking to you, we have been warned not to talk to the press, but actually, three Lassa fever patients died last week.
“Two suspects are in critical condition right now, while others about 28 are under close observation”.
The hospital source could not, however, explain why the state ministry is keeping the death rate and other details on the Lassa suspects a secret.
Bread kept in unhygenic place
A consultant on infectious diseases in the state, Dr. Tahir,while speaking to The Nation on the treatment of the disease, said: ” The cost is high, because the kits cost at least N20,000 each. The teaching hospital currently has a limited number of such kits.”
Attributing the outbreak of Lassa fever to poverty and ignorance, Dr Tahir cautioned against consumption of rats either cooked or roasted, saying: “It is the easiest way to curb the spread of the disease. He further stressed that if people have enough food and meat to eat, they would not go after rats, because ignorance causes people to spread foodstuffs on the street where rats would eat.”
As a measure to minimise the human casualties occasioned by the outbreak, the Plateau State government has embarked on public awareness campaign to enlighten the people on the danger of the disease as well as the preventive measure they should adopt. One of the preventive measures canvassed by the government is for the residents to clear their rooms and surrounding of rats, the animal believed to be the primary cause of Lassa fever.
A case of Lassa fever has been confirmed in Lagos.
The victim ,identified as a 25-year-old student from the Ahmadu Bello University case, was diagnosed with the ailment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.
The patient was first admitted at a private hospital in Ojokoro area of Lagos State.
Health Minister Isaac Adewole said the patient was responding to treatment.
The minister had,last week,confirmed 40 deaths from a Lassa fever outbreak in parts of the country.
The death toll increased by one with the loss of a patient at the National Hospital,Abuja during the week.
Another year, another acute viral hemorrhagic fever threatening to clutch its claws in the population; endemic in parts of West Africa. Less than a year since the full outbreak of the dreaded Ebola virus, Lassa fever is proving that disease really is the biggest threat to humanity. With the outbreak of Lassa fever claiming the lives of over 40 people, across 10 states, Nigerians have got to be worried with the rising number killed by this dreadful virus.
Lassa fever is a hemorrhagic fever (LHF) caused by the Lassa virus, which has occurred mainly in West Africa. The illness was first discovered in 1969 when some missionary nurses died from it while stationed in Nigeria. The virus is named after the town in Borno state, where the illness first occurred.
Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease, meaning that humans become infected from contact with infected animals. The virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or droppings. Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevention and control measures. Early supportive care with rehydration and symptomatic treatment improves survival.
According to sources from the World Health Organisation, similar to the Ebola virus, “clinical cases of the disease have been known for over a decade but had not been connected with a viral pathogen. The virus is a member of the virus family, ‘Arenaviridae,’ and is a single-stranded RNA virus; it is, ‘zoonotic,’ or animal-borne.”
Whether one has been directly affected by Lassa fever or not, Nigerians have got to be concerned with the perceived lack of awareness and preventative measures to protect people against Lassa fever. With the little noise being generated about the virus, it is presumed that many of the medical facilities and health workers in the country are not sufficiently equipped and prepared to provide standardized infection prevention precautions, containment, and treatment for patients infected with Lassa fever. If this is so, then medical workers are faced with the tenuous and difficult task of effectively treating Lassa fever.
With the virus already spreading to ten states In Nigeria, in order to avoid the spread of Lassa fever, the measures that had been put in place last year during the Ebola scare must be revisited immediately. While it maybe hard to out-rightly impose complete travel restrictions from the infected states, as many preventative measures to test passengers as possible must be provided. More importantly, the government has got to employ all the necessary tactics to spread awareness and educate Nigerians on the symptoms to look for in order to identify Lassa fever.
The signs and symptoms of Lassa fever occur 1-3 weeks after a person has come into contact with the virus. Even though the symptoms of Lassa fever can easily be under-diagnosed, Nigerians, especially in the affected states, should look out for the symptoms, which include, weakness, headaches, fever and general malaise.
In the event that an infected person isn’t immediately treated, the disease might progress to more serious symptoms, which include hemorrhaging of the person’s eyes, gums, or nose – repeated vomiting, respiratory distress, pain in the back, chest and abdomen, facial swelling and shock. Neurological issues have also been described in relation to Lassa fever, to include tremors, hearing loss and encephalitis. Additionally, an infected person may die within a fortnight of their initial symptoms because of multi-organ failure. A common symptom of Lassa fever is deafness, in differing degrees.
Due to the fact that the symptoms of Lassa fever are so nonspecific and varied, clinical diagnosis and detection of the disease in affected patients is often times difficult. Thus, Nigerians must be vigilant in detecting those who may have contracted the illness since we now know that the virus is in the country and spreading. Now that we are aware that scores of patients in 10 states have contracted Lassa fever, prompt isolation of affected patients, good infection protection and control practices and rigorous contact tracing must become a necessity.
Quite similar to Ebola, prevention of Lassa fever relies on promoting hygiene. All measures should be taken to keep homes free from rodents. Actions such as, storing food in containers, not eating left over, unsupervised food, disposing of garbage from the home and maintaining clean households will go a long way in winning the war against Lassa fever. The use of hand sanitizers in the same way that was done during the Ebola crisis is also advisable. Those caring for sick people should try to avoid contact with blood and body fluids while caring for sick persons.
In health-care settings, staff should always apply standard infection prevention and control precautions when caring for patients. Health workers should apply extra infection control measures to prevent contact with the patient’s blood and body fluids and contaminated surfaces. They should wear protective gear, such as medical masks, goggles and gloves when directly treating a patient with Lassa fever. And when hospital-staff see a patient who is suspected to have Lassa fever, they should immediately contact national experts for direction and to make arrangements for laboratory testing. Laboratory samples taken to investigate the Lassa virus infection should be handled by trained staff and processed in suitably equipped laboratories.
In fighting the disease, the government can go further by setting up medical quarantine stations in the airports and highway borders of the affected States to test and monitor passengers in order to isolate and eradicate the virus. As many health workers as possible, all over Nigeria, especially in the affected states and their borders states need to be trained in detecting and dealing with Lassa fever. Military personnel and other essential persons may also need to be vigorously trained on the essentials of preventing, confronting and dealing with Lassa fever, if the outbreak begins to get out of control.
Putting in place monitoring stations at the travel outlets of the affected states, for a short period, may impede the ability of some to travel back and forth; it may also add delays and annoyances for travellers but it will be worth it if it saves lives and stops the spread of the virus. The ban on the sale of bush-meat in Nigeria should be proscribed with immediate effect
The government has got to be proactive on this issue. There can be no slip up or negligence in handling this matter. The authorities must work every day, all day to protect Nigerians from health, safety and security threats, of which the Lassa fever is one. The Nigerian disease control apparatus should increase the health security of our nation; they should save lives and protect Nigerians from such health threats.
Even when the spread of the Lassa fever has been contained, our authorities must conduct critical science exercises and provide health information that would protect the nation against future expensive and dangerous health threats. No matter which disease we are threatened and faced with, Nigeria must be ready to respond when such a threat arises. As is the norm in developed countries, “whether the diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack,” our authorities should be able to fight disease and support communities and citizens to do the same.
With minimal information being given on the characteristics and peculiarities of this particular bout of Lassa fever, there is a feeling that the authorities are being somewhat cavalier about it. From hence forth, every step of the way, government has got to be reactive rather than proactive. Anything short of that in handling this outbreak of Lassa fever, could amount to reckless endangerment.
Another year, another acute viral hemorrhagic fever threatening to clutch its claws into our population. But, like we have done before, we can beat it if we follow the required steps. Lord knows, on top of all the other challenges of life, we don’t need another fever raised by Lassa fever.
One person has died of Lassa fever at the National Hospital in Abuja, sending fears to residents of the Federal Capital Terrirory (FCT).
But the government allayed the fears but urged the people to be vigilant.
Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole, who announced the latest casualty, said yesterday that the death toll from the disease since its outbreak in August 2015 has increased to 43.
The Abuja victim, according to the minister, came to the FCT from Plateau state.
The minister charged health workers to be more vigilant and look out for symptoms of the disease.
A statement by the Federal Minstry of Health’s Director of Press Mrs. Boade Akinola on behalf of the minister, said: “The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, has announced the death of one confirmed Lassa fever victim at the National Hospital in Abuja.
“The Minister who made the announcement at the National Hospital also called on health workers at all levels to be more vigilant and look out for patients with symptoms of Lassa fever.
“The Minister has directed that all primary and secondary contacts of the victim should be tracked including the staff of the private hospital in Kubwa where the deceased was first managed for one week and subsequently became unconscious before the referral to the National Hospital.
“He also advised that family members should report at the nearest hospital if anyone has fever for more than two days.”
The Minister, however, urged Abuja residents not to panic but to maintain high level vigilance and present themselves for test if they feel unhealthy or they feel symptoms of Lassa fever which include high fever, stooling, tiredness, vomiting, etc., adding that self-medication should be avoided at this period.
The Medical Director of the Hospital Dr Jack Momoh who briefed the Minister, said the patient was brought in unconscious from a Private Hospital in Kubwa where he was admitted for eight days.
The 33-year-old newly married, lived in Jos, Plateau State but came to see a family member in Kubwa. He however died within 24 hours of admission at the National Hospital.
The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Ministry of Health, National Centre for Disease Control and other relevant agencies to put more efforts in containing and stamping out Lassa fever in Nigeria”.
The Green Chamber, which also asked the ministry and agencies to put permanent preventive measure in place, mandated its committees on Health Institutions and Health Services to synergise and find an immediate solution to the festering virus infection.
The lawmakers also urged the Federal Government “to make available to the relevant agencies adequate funding needed to tackle the Lassa fever outbreak as a matter of urgency.
The resolutions of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion under urgent national importance by Hon. Chike Okafor, chairman, House Committee on Health Services under the title: “Urgent need to stop the embarrassing outbreak of Lassa fever virus in Nigeria and the need to step up the fight against further spread and loss of lives”.
Lauding the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Health to contain the outbreak, Okafor said there was the need to do more to check its spread.
The motion was passed without dissent when Speaker Yakubu Dogara called for a voice vote.
In Minna, the Niger State capital, the Minister of Health, said the nation’s breakdown of notification system was responsible for the high cases of Lassa fever that have been recorded.
He expressed dismay that government was not aware of the disease for months after its outbreak, vowing to restore the notification system in a way that one single disease or death would be noticed, even at the national level.
The minister, who was in the state as part of a Nationwide Surveillance Assessment and fact-finding exercise, said the Federal Government was not ready to find fault, but to find out what went wrong and rectify it.
Adewole said the disease has been brought under control and lauded the Niger State government for been proactive in the handling the outbreak of the disease in the state.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Ketso, called for incorporation of traditional healthcare healers into the National Primary Health Care delivery policy.
Nine persons have been killed by the Lassa fever at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo State since November last year.
The victims were said to have reported late to the hospital for treatment.
Many of them died at the Accident and Emergency Ward of the hospital before their ailments could be diagnose as Lassa fever.
A Lassa fever patient died on Tuesday at the hospital and another whose case was described as critical was admitted yesterday.
It was gathered that one of the two patients admitted at the Isolation Ward is responding to treatment.
Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Sylvanus Okogbenin, who spoke to reporters yesterday, said the present Lassa fever cases were endemic in Edo North.
Dr. Sylvanus added that test and treatment for Lassa fever at the hospital was free as the Federal Government has provided enough ribavirin vaccine.
He called for the building of more treatment facilities in each of the geo-political zone for easy diagnoses and treatment.
The Federal Government yesterday confirmed the death of 40 Nigerians in a Lassa fever outbreak in 10 states of the country.
Eighty-six people were infected in Bauchi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers, Edo, Plateau, Gombe and Oyo ,according to Health Minister Isaac Adewole.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Lassa fever as an acute haemorrhagic illness which belongs to the arenarvirus family of viruses, which also includes the Ebola-like Marburg virus.
Adewole called the outbreak an embarrassment .
“It is not the outbreak that is unusual; what is unusual is the large number of deaths recorded so far and these deaths came largely from three states; Kano, Bauchi and Niger,” Adewole told reporters yesterday while giving an update on the situation in Abuja.
He said the situation in Niger is “worrisome because we had unusual deaths dating back to August and only came to light about three to four months after and that represents a breakdown in disease notification system and we are trying to strengthen this because deaths even when they are unusual should be reported and we should not have waited for 35 cases in Niger before sitting up and that is the worrisome part of it.
He spelt out measures to check the spread of the disease.
These include avoiding contact with rats and food or objects contaminated with rats’ secretions or excretion.
Shedding light on disease,he said: “The onset of the disease is usually gradual, starting with fever, general weakness, and malaise followed by headache, sore throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cough, and bleeding from mouth, nose, vagina and gastrointestinal tract and low blood pressure.
“The virus is shed in the urine and droppings of the rats and can be transmitted through direct contact, touching objects or eating food contaminated with these materials or through cuts or sores and the incubation period is 6 to 21 days.”
He asked health facilities across the country to place emphasis on routine infection prevention and control measures and ensure that all patients are treated free.
Health workers seeing patients suspected to have the fever were advised to contact the following numbers: 08093810105, 08163215251, 08031571667 and 0813505005.
The first case of the disease was recorded last November in Bauchi state. Cases were then reported in Kano and other places.
The Lagos State government on Thursday alerted residents on the need to observe proper hygiene to curb the spread of the disease.
One of the Lassa fever deaths occurred in Plateau State.
Consequently, the authorities have placed a team of medical experts on the red alert to prevent its spread.
The disease has been noticed in Jos North, Mangu, Langtang South, Pankshin and Shendam Local Government Areas.
Health Commissioner Kuden Kamshak who briefed the press in Jos yesterday said the state, with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO), “is working round the clock to contain the spread of the virus.”
Accordingly, Disease Survellance and Notification Officers (DSNO) have been deployed in each of the 17 local governments in the state to monitor and manage the health challenge.
The commissioner urged residents not to panic but remain calm and vigilant, and to report promptly to the nearest health care facility.
The Niger State government issued a similar don’t panic advice yesterday on the Lassa fever outbreak.
Health and Health Services Commissioner Mustapha Jibril in a statement in Minna said that measures were being put in place to address the development as blood samples of those suspected to have been infected had been taken for laboratory test at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control in Abuja and Lagos.
He said: “The Ministry of Health and Health Services has swung into action in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO) and the local government to bring the situation under control,” Jibril stated.
The Commissioner said that his ministry had strengthened monitoring and surveillance on the affected communities in Fuka ward of Muyan Local Government area of the state.
He then called on members of the public with to come up with information on any suspected disease or death to the nearest health facilities.
One life has been lost to the renewed Lassa fever outbreak in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
A 33-year-old trader in building materials has been reportedly killed by the fever in Port Harcourt.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson Parker, disclosed this in a state-wide broadcast to the people of the state yesterday. He said the victim died at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).
Parker regretted the loss and appealed to residents to report early to hospital when presented with serious fever.
He said the state has made adequate preparations to ensure no further lives are lost.
The health commissioner described the disease as a fast killer, saying that it is highly communicable.
He, however, assured that it could be treated if reported early.
Parker said a special ward has been prepared for adequate and efficient treatment of anyone found with the disease. This is the second time the state is being hit by the infection within one year interval.
It was among the 11 states of the country where the disease was reported last year.
Some lives, including that of a hospital nurse and a youth corps member posted to the state, were lost at last year’s attack.
The commissioner said the germ is found in rodents, especially the multi-mammal rats; and could be contacted by direct contact with the rat droppings (faeces, and urine).
“Lassa Fever is a viral disease of animals which infects man through rodents.
“It is spread by direct contact with infected feaces/urine of rats and inhalation of their infected aerosols. Persons to person contact through infected urine blood, semen and aerosols of the infected individuals is also well documented.
“The common symptoms which manifest after about 6-21 days incubation period include fever, rigor, cough, muscle pain, sore, throat, facial swelling, weakness, diarrhea, constipation, seizures, deafness and unexpected bleeding. When identified early in the symptomatic state, individuals chances of recovery with antiviral treatment are very high.”
Forty-four persons were killed by Lassa fever at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State, this year.
Last year, 33 deaths were recorded.
The Chief Medical Director, Prof. George Akpede, said there was an increase in Lassa fever cases in Nigeria.
Akpede spoke at the maiden Lassa Fever Day awareness programme organised by the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control.
He said despite achievements recorded in the treatment of the rodent-transmitted ailment, there is fear of an increase during the dry season.
He said: “Through the activities of the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, the case fatality has dropped from between 60 and 80 per cent at the beginning of this millennium to 30-35 per cent.
“Millions of Nigerians are still unaware of LF and, therefore, cannot take preventive measures to avoid infection.
“This has resulted in a spread of the disease from six states in 2009 to 23 states and the involvement of ‘new’ states in 2012. This year alone, 44 deaths from LF have been recorded; a figure higher than what was recorded last year.”
There is no doubt that the administration of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola has been doing its best to make Lagos State live to its lingo as the ‘State of Excellence’. However, there are some salient untoward happenings which urgently require the attention of the State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASSA) and by extension, the State House of Assembly. It is common to find boutique managers displaying openly dummies of naked women, all in the name of doing business. This is bad for children and teenagers who are passersby on streets and roads where such boutiques are located.
Managers of such boutiques also fail to realize that this not only give a bad image to the state but also portrays the country in bad light. This unfortunate development in the state, and possibly in other states in the country, becomes worrisome when it is common to find law enforcement agents such as the police, staff of KAI (Kick Against Indiscipline), the agency established by the Lagos State government to check acts of indiscipline in the state and who should be courageous enough to check the societal menace by cautioning the boutique managers look the other way.
Another societal menace many are grappling with has to do with noise pollution from speakers of record sellers. A good example of an area that is notorious for this is Pen Cinema in Agege Local Government Area. The menace is so pronounced that it has become impossible to make or receive calls within 200 metres from all roads in that vicinity.
It is rather unfortunate that rather than the noise pollution menace in the state to abate, it is on the increase and becoming more widespread despite the firm presence of LASSA that is charged with responsibility of advertising policy in the state.
It is therefore hoped that LASSA will sensitize boutique owners and record sellers on the dire need for decency and decorum to be imbibed in the manner by which products and services are advertised in the state.
