The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)

  • NCDC activates emergency operations centre

    The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in collaboration with other stakeholders has activated an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to manage the current outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) in the country.

    This is contained in a statement issued by Dr Lawal Bakare, Communication Manager, NCDC, on Monday in Abuja.

    This brings the national response into an Incidence Management System (IMS), to ensure that all activities across the country will be managed using a clear command and control structure.

    Bakare said that with this new coordinating structure, the country will have a tight, multi-partner team of experts pulled from the most competent agencies focusing on outbreak control in Nigeria.

    He said that the head of emergency preparedness and response at the NCDC, Dr John Oladejo, would act as the Incident Manager of the response team.

    Bakare noted that the Incident Manager would report through the Chief Executive Officer of the NCDC to the Minister of Health.

    He added that with the new team structure, all CSM outbreak response activities would now be coordinated in one place.

    He said that a total of 500,000 doses of Meningitis `C’ vaccines have been distributed to some of the affected states for immediate outbreak response vaccination.

    The manager added that an additional 823,970 doses of Meningitis `C’ vaccines were been expected from the United Kingdom to support vaccination activities in other affected states.

    He explained that the EOC will support state-wide vaccination campaign which starts in Zamfara on April 5.

    He added that the team would also deploy and coordinate a robust national communication and social mobilisation campaign, focused on CSM prevention and control in rural and urban areas of affected states.

    “We are confident that we have turned the tide, and with increasing vaccination activities, expect a reduction in number of cases.

    “Importantly, lessons learned from this outbreak will help the country prepare for the future,’’ he said.

    The 2,997 suspected cases of CSM have been reported in 16 states as at April 3.

    Laboratory analyses have confirmed 146 cases of the figure with 336 deaths recorded.

     

    NAN

  • Meningitis: NCDC confirms 282 deaths in five states

    The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed the outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) in five states with 282 deaths.

    Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Chief Executive Officer of the centre, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

    Ihekweazu said that 1,966 suspected cases have been recorded while 109 have been confirmed since the outbreak of the disease in February in the country.

    He said that the centre had deployed a response team to the affected states to vaccinate the residents and control further spread of CSM.

    According to him, Zamfara has the highest number of confirmed cases of 44, followed by Katsina with 32, Sokoto 19, Kebbi 10 and Niger 4 confirmed cases.

    He also said that there is an inter-agency response supporting the states to contain the outbreak through the primary mode of vaccination.

    However, Ihekweazu explained that a new strand of meningitis called “stereotype C” has emerged in place of the previous known type “stereotype A”, which has disappeared.

    He regretted that there was not yet commercially available vaccine for this new stereotype “C” meningitis.

    “There is a vaccine available but it is not commercially available for the stereotype involved in this specific outbreak and we have to make application to the World Health Organisation for the vaccines.

    “Thankfully the vaccines have arrived and we have started vaccination campaign in Zamfara. We are in the process of starting in Sokoto and Kebbi states.

    “We continue to advocate for scientists and for the global community to really try and push to develop a vaccine for meningitis `C’, on the other hand all we can do is prevention,” he said.

    Ihekweazu said that prevention and early detection was key to combating the disease, if detected early, it could be treated with antibiotics.

    He said that the centre was working with the states by supporting and ensuring they have the supplies to combat the disease.

    “Meningitis is a tough disease especially during this period and it is associated with over-crowding, understanding the living conditions in the country, people must keep their building ventilated,” he said.

    He urged Nigerians to avoid sleeping in overcrowded condition and if a lot of people must sleep together in the same room, the windows and doors must be open to allow enough ventilation.

    The chief executive officer assured that the centre would work with state governments in the North West and North Central, where most cases were recorded, to ensure better preparation and avert similar outbreak next year.

     

  • Meningitis: NCDC confirms 282 deaths in five states

    The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed the outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) in five states with 282 deaths.

    Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Chief Executive Officer of the centre, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

    Ihekweazu said that 1,966 suspected cases have been recorded while 109 have been confirmed since the outbreak of the disease in February in the country.

    He said that the centre had deployed a response team to the affected states to vaccinate the residents and control further spread of CSM.

    According to him, Zamfara has the highest number of confirmed cases of 44, followed by Katsina with 32, Sokoto 19, Kebbi 10 and Niger 4 confirmed cases.

    He also said that there is an inter-agency response supporting the states to contain the outbreak through the primary mode of vaccination.

    However, Ihekweazu explained that a new strand of meningitis called “stereotype C” has emerged in place of the previous known type “stereotype A”, which has disappeared.

    He regretted that there was not yet commercially available vaccine for this new stereotype “C” meningitis.

    “There is a vaccine available but it is not commercially available for the stereotype involved in this specific outbreak and we have to make application to the World Health Organisation for the vaccines.

    “Thankfully the vaccines have arrived and we have started vaccination campaign in Zamfara. We are in the process of starting in Sokoto and Kebbi states.

    “We continue to advocate for scientists and for the global community to really try and push to develop a vaccine for meningitis ‘C’, on the other hand all we can do is prevention,” he said.

    Ihekweazu said that prevention and early detection was key to combating the disease, if detected early, it could be treated with antibiotics.

    He said that the centre was working with the states by supporting and ensuring they have the supplies to combat the disease.

    “Meningitis is a tough disease especially during this period and it is associated with over-crowding, understanding the living conditions in the country, people must keep their building ventilated,” he said.

    He urged Nigerians to avoid sleeping in overcrowded condition and if a lot of people must sleep together in the same room, the windows and doors must be open to allow enough ventilation.

    The chief executive officer assured that the centre would work with state governments in the North West and North Central, where most cases were recorded, to ensure better preparation and avert similar outbreak next year.

     

  • NACA, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control deny AIDS cure

    NACA, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control deny AIDS cure

    National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have refuted the claim by one Maduike Ezeibe, a Professor of Veterinary Medicine and Clinical Virology at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, claiming to have discovered a new drug for the cure of HIV/AIDS.

    In a statement jointly signed by NACA Director-General, Dr Sani Aliyu and CEO NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu the duo stated that having examined the facts, the study of the claimant was published in two little known, fee-charging ‘predatory’ journals and involved less than ten patients.

    Both Aliyu and Dr Ihekweazu said it is necessary to make the clarification because there was really no basis for a claim to cure AIDS in the study.

    “We are concerned that the publicity given to these claims will stop patients with HIV from taking life-saving antiretrovirals and give them false hope of a cure. It will be a great disservice to this vulnerable group of patients for the media to disseminate these claims in the absence of sound scientific evidence.

    “There are long-established, tried and tested routes for the discovery, development and validation of modern medicines before they can be registered and used for the treatment of humans and animals. We call on all academics to follow legal and scientifically acceptable methods in conducting their research and to avoid making premature claims that are capable of derailing the huge progress made in the last two decades in the war against HIV/AIDS.

    “Millions of lives have been saved as a result of modern antiretroviral treatment and people living with HIV can now look forward to a normal healthy future. We continue to support the hard and diligent work being done by scientists in our Universities and research institutions around the country. We are always ready to partner with our scientists on all aspects of HIV research provided this is in line with international best practice,” they explained.
    The duo faulted the clinical trial done by the claimant stating thus: In the “clinical trial” as reported, there was no evidence of the use of controls, which is the basis of all efficacy trials.  Without controls, you can neither have randomization nor blinding, two other critical factors in studying the effects of new medicines.  Critically the primary outcome measured in this study was based on plasma viral load levels that are known to fluctuate in patients, even in the absence of any intervention. It is also worth noting that virological suppression (viral load less than 50 copies/ml) was not achieved in six or eight of patients.
    “There appeared to be no medical doctor involved in the execution of this study and there was no evidence on where or how the patients were treated or monitored during this study, their clinical and treatment status at the beginning or at the end of it, the statement read.

    They stated that: Clinical trials are conducted in a series phases – each phase is designed to answer a separate research question. These include; 1.) Phase I: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety 2.) Phase II: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective 3.) Phase III: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, comparing it to commonly used treatments, and Phase IV: Studies are done to gather information on the drug’s effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use,” they summated.

    But, “the authors of this study did not state what phase their study was and the results of previous phases, if these were done. One critical issue is that there was no evidence from the publication that the authors obtained ethical clearance from an appropriate body in Nigeria to conduct this study and only ambiguous evidence that ‘informed’ consent was sought from the evidently vulnerable patients,” read the statement.

  • ‘Lassa fever killed 149 in Nigeria’

    ‘Lassa fever killed 149 in Nigeria’

    … 273 cases reported

    The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Friday said Nigeria recorded the largest outbreaks of Lassa fever in its history between 2015 and 2016, with 273 reported cases resulting in 149 deaths.

    Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Chief Executive Officer of NCDC  said this in a statement in Lagos.

    Ihekweazu said the cases were reported from 23 states.

    He said following this the Minister of Health inaugurated a Lassa Fever Eradication Committee, under the leadership of Prof. Oyewale Tomori.

    It said that the committee was to look into the situation and proffer solutions to the NCDC towards preventing future outbreaks and reducing the deaths from the disease.

    According to Ihekweazu, the committee came up with an approach that focused on strengthening the capacities and capabilities of states to prevent, detect and respond to Lassa while the NCDC coordinates the efforts.

    ”The prepositioning of commodities has now ensured that all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria have a full compliment of emergency materials.

    ”The materials comprising  Personal Protection Equipment, Ribavirin, Disinfection sprayers, hand sanitizers, hypochlorite (bleach), case definition posters, hard copies of IDSR technical guidelines and safety boxes,” it said.

    The statement said that NCDC had dispatched a team of epidemiologists to support Ogun State to respond to the recent outbreak where a case of Lassa fever was confirmed in a healthcare worker, who died later at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.

    ”Emergency Operations Centre has been setup and is now monitoring all contacts of the case, disinfecting contaminated areas and coordinating all response activities.

    ”This case highlights the risk Lassa fever still poses to the lives of Nigerians, particularly at this time of the year,” it said.

    The statement said that a nationwide risk communications plan had also been developed.

    ”Throughout the dry season, a new communication plan would address priority antecedents of Lassa Fever outbreak to ensure prevention is guaranteed,” he said.

    He said the communication targeted all key stakeholders, from the presidency to households, and would emphasise on the ways to prevent Lassa fever infection.

    ”The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with infected rodent urine or faeces.

    ”Lassa can also be transmitted from human to human through contact with the body fluids of an infected person.

    ”The key messages to Nigerians are, firstly protect your food items from access to rats using whatever means that you can afford- refrigerate, cover, store properly.

    ”Secondly if you do have a fever, insist on getting tested for malaria using a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) – remembering that not every fever is malaria.

    ”No healthcare worker can diagnose malaria without a test, and it is the right of every Nigerian to demand a test, ” it said.

    He urged healthcare workers to always apply standard infection prevention and control precautions when caring for patients, regardless of their presumed diagnosis as the healthcare setting could be particularly risky.

  • No vaccine for Lassa fever prevention yet – NCDC

    No vaccine for Lassa fever prevention yet – NCDC

    The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says that there is no vaccine that is clinically proven to be effective in the prevention of Lassa fever at the moment.

    Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Chief Executive Officer of NCDC told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja that the only medical tool available to combat the disease for now was called Ribavrin.

    According to Ihekweazu, Ribavrin is a medicine if given early to patients who are infected with Lassa will protect, prevent death as well as further spread.

    He noted that early detection was key in saving affected patients with Lassa virus and protecting others.

    “Unlike Ebola, the good thing with Lassa is that there is a treatment available but the treatment has to be given early.

    “For instance, if you keep treating malaria for three weeks before testing and discovering it is Lassa, and you administer Ribavrin at the fourth week then it is unlikely that you will succeed.

    “But if Lassa is detected early and treatment commences at once, the patient will be saved and it will also help prevent transmission to others,’’ he said.

    Ihekweazu pointed out that Ribavrin as a drug could be administered in drug form to treat contacts.

    “If you have a known case of Lassa and the patient have had contacts, we give Ribavrin to the contacts to prevent them from getting it but sadly there is no vaccine yet.

    “We have Ribavrin available in the FCT and we are currently deploying and prepositioning it in all the state capitals in Nigeria

    “So that the states can have access to the drugs when they need it and we will only supply it in emergency cases when they run out,” he said.

    The NCDC boss explained that Lassa was endemic in the country, adding that there would always be cases of Lassa fever until “we are able to prevent it’’.

    He emphasised the need for people to report suspected cases of Lassa fever to enable NCDC to respond swiftly.

    He said that the primary responsibility for response lie with the state government, noting that the centre’s role was to support the states.

    “There are circumstances where there is a bigger outbreak, that is when we actually go physically to the states to support them, but we can’t do that for all the states at all times.

    “Recently, we supported cases in Delta and Plateau state by going there ourselves and sending a team to support them physically at the state level.

    “For Ondo state, we did a risk assessment and we found out that they are capable of doing this themselves and they have been on top of it, so we give them support from Abuja.

    “We have done assessments in the states in terms of their capacity to respond because they are the closest to the patients, we are supporting the states and they are doing the following.

    “Awareness programmes are one of the methods some of the states are using to prevent Lassa virus, they run advertisements on radio, television and do some community education programmes.

    “People think about Lassa in terms of bleeding but that happens at a very late stage, as most patients will have the normal features of fever and malaria,’’ he said.

     

  • FG inaugurates Governing Board of the ECOWAS RCDC

    In order to increase the surveillance and information system for early detection, strengthening of laboratory capacity, preparedness and emergency response and retention of trained healthcare workforce in West Africa, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has flagged off the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Disease Control (RCDC).
    Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Governing Board of the RCDC in Abuja, the minister charged members to build upon the existing structures and successes recorded by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
    Prof Adewole said the Centre was also pilot – testing an open source Surveillance and outbreak response management and analytic system (SORMAS) software that uses smart phones to improve bi-directional communication and management of outbreak, thereby significantly reducing outbreak response time. This, he said contributed to making our health system more resilient and improved response time to health emergencies.
    He said the Government’s commitment towards providing the necessary infrastructures for the immediate operationalisation of the ECOWAS RCDC, as contained in the MOU and our acceptance to use Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as a platform for the immediate take of the RCDC.
    The Director General of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), Dr. Crespin Xavier, said that the Governing council has the difficult task of supervising the activities of the Centre in strict compliance with ECOWAS rules and regulations. due to the rampant outbreaks of disease epidemics in environment with scarce resources. “The stakes are high, the task is difficult but there is no doubt that we have what it takes to deliver best practices for disease surveillance and control which already exist, indeed we have the support  and goodwill of our heads of state and government’’, he said.
    Dr. Xavier expressed gratitude to the Government for all the support given to WAHO, for the smooth take off of ECOWAS RCDC in the country and also thanked the technical partners for their support.
    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Amina Shamaki, represented by Director, Public Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Evelyn Ngige, urged the Governing Board to use their expertise in carrying out the assignment for the overall benefit of the West African populace.
    The Members of the Governing Board are:   Dr. Xavier Crespin (DG WAHO) as Chairman of the Governing Board,   Prof. Dagnan N’cho Simplice – ( Cote D’ ivore),  Dr. Badu Sarkodie -(Ghana),  Dr. Placido Monteiro Carddoso – ( Guinea Bissau), Lamine Koivogui – (Guinea),  Dr. Abdoulaye Bousso – (Senegal), Dr. Henri Kabore –  (Mali),  Dr. Carlos Pedrio Faria de Brito – (WAHO), Mr. Richard Awunyo – ( WAHO), Mme Savage Ami Ibrahim – (WAHO) and  Maitre Ely Diallo – (WAHO)