Ondo, Edo, Others Rank High As Lassa Fever Death Toll Rises

The Nigerian centre for Disease Control has said that death toll from the Lassa fever disease since the beginning of 2018 has risen to 101.

In the recent situation report from NCDC, a total of 408 cases of the disease have been confirmed from 20 states where the disease has been active.

The states include: Abia, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Federal Capital Territory, Gombe, Imo, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, and Taraba.

Among these states, three: Edo, Ondo and Ebonyi top the chart with the highest reported cases.

The NCDC epidemiological report for week 14 since the disease started, shows that 408 cases have been classified as confirmed and nine probable cases, including 101 deaths.

There is also a total of 4480 contacts identified through contact tracing of people who had gotten in contact with confirmed cases, from the 20 Lassa fever active states.

This year, the country is witnessing the
largest outbreak ever of the disease since since it was first discovered in Nigeria in 1969.

However, the epidemiological chart by NCDC for this week indicates that there has been a steady decline in the outbreak compared to when it started, though there are still pocket outbreaks across the country.

A virological expert, Oyewale Tomori, in a meeting on Lassa fever had called on the government to find a lasting solution to curbing the disease.

According to him, the country has been taking the same steps for the past 49 years without combating the disease.

He called on the federal government to take more responsibility in combating the disease as corruption is one of the factors hindering the fight against the disease.

Currently, Lassa fever case management
centres are operational in four states Anambra, Abakaliki, Edo, and Ondo States and three laboratories are operational and testing samples for Lassa fever by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

WHO and other development partners have also continued to support the outbreak response, mainly in the domains of enhanced surveillance, contact tracing, strengthening of diagnostic capacity and risk communication.