Lassa fever has claimed 41 lives from 93 reported cases in 10 of the 36 states, the Federal government said yesterday.
Last Friday, the government put the death toll at 40 out of 86 reported cases but the number of the suspected cases also rose to 93.
Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole gave the update on the ravaging disease and the plans to curb it, at a joint ministerial news conference in Abuja.
He listed the affected states as Bauchi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers, Edo, Plateau, Gombe and Oyo.
He however said there were no new confirmed cases or death in the last 48 hours.
He did not disclose the state from which the additional life was lost.
Adewole assured Nigerians that there was no need to panic as the government has the capacity to deal with the outbreak.
He noted that the disease is different from Ebola and so it will be treated differently; explaining that unlike Ebola which had a single entry point into the country, Lassa Fever has multiple outbreak and has been restricted to rural areas.
Adewole blamed the states for the heavy casualty for failing to notify his office on time.
“In the last 48 hours the government raised a four-man expert committee, chaired by Prof. Michael Asuzu, to visit Kano, Niger and Bauchi, the three most endemic states.
“The committee will embark on a fact-finding mission, assess the current situation, document response experiences, identify gaps and proffer recommendations on how to prevent future occurrences,’’ he said.
The minister assured the public that the task of the committee was not to apportion blame but rather to document lessons learnt for better planning of an affective responsive.
According to Adewole, part of the long term response is to establish an inter-ministerial committee to deliver a final blow on Lassa fever and other related diseases.
The committee is made up of ministers of Education, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Environment, Information and Culture as well as Health.
Adewole advised communities to improve on their hygiene, including food hygiene and food protection practices.
He also urged the public to avoid contact with rodents and rats as well as food contaminated with rat’s secretions and excretions.
“Avoid drying food in the open and along roadsides, it is also important to cover all foods to prevent rodents contamination,’’ he said.
The minister said affected states have been advised to intensify awareness creation on the signs and symptoms of the disease.
“The public is hereby assured that government and other stakeholders are working tirelessly to address the outbreak and bring it to timely end,’’ said the minister.
He said the ministry had ordered for the immediate release of adequate quantities of “ribavirin’’, the specific antiviral drug for Lassa fever, to the affected states for prompt treatment of cases.
Adewole said Nigeria has the capability to diagnose Lassa fever, adding that “all the cases reported so far were confirmed by our laboratories’’.
“The reassuring aspect of the current outbreak is that we have not recorded any new case of outbreak in the last 72 hours. We have also not recorded any death in the last 48 hours.
“This gives one hope that we are beginning to see the end of the outbreak.”
He cited the case of Niger State where “the outbreak started in August and we were not informed until November. And we consider this to be very unfortunate.
“Not only that about 80 per cent of the outbreak was concentrated in three states; Kano Bauchi and Niger. Niger recorded 35 outbreaks with 16 deaths; Kano recorded 14 outbreaks and nine deaths; Bauchi recorded 14 outbreaks and three deaths.”
He announced that no health worker has been effected so far as against what happened in 2012.”
In respect of Oyo State, he said: “It is a sort of disconnect. We had a confirmed case at the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan. I have the laboratory result that was signed by UCH Ibadan. After treatment, this same individual had test repeated in Lagos and Lagos now said it was negative.
“We are standing on the original report from UCH which confirmed him positive and we are in touch with Oyo state on the true situation.
“May I also say that it is only the Federal Ministry of Health that can make pronouncement on the status of Lassa Fever in Nigeria. And to us, we have a case from Oyo state and that case was treated and he is alive, which is a good story.”
The minister also announced that the two suspected cases in Rivers state have turned out to be negative, likewise the other two from Lagos.
For now he said the ministry is very comfortable with happening, though he said “We expect to have more report of suspected cases but what we want to assured you is that confirmed cases should not increase. We can assure you that we have not receivedý any confirmed case in the last 72 hours.”
He also declared that there is cure for Lassa fever but for the cure to occur, the patients must be seen very early. Early presentation to health facilities, he said is important and drugs have been distributed.
“We hope working together we can finally declare the final end of Lassa fever ýin this country,” he said.
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