Lassa fever: Nigeria records 95 deaths in three months

Lassa fever has claimed 95 lives in Nigeria with a total of 394 confirmed reported cases across 19 states within three months, in a press statement released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)

NCDC’s latest data shows that the number of new confirmed and probable cases has been falling for five consecutive weeks, indicating that public health measures are proving effective, but more infections are expected until the end of the dry season, as the viral haemorrhagic fever is endemic to the area.

According to the agency, since the onset of the 2018 outbreak, 95 people have died in positive-confirmed cases, while 30 others have also died despite being negative, with 9 probable cases still pending. The Case Fatality Rate in confirmed and probable cases is 24.1%.

However, the spread of Lassa fever in Nigeria is beginning to slow but the epidemic is far from contained, the World Health Organisation and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have warned.

“Between 1 January and 25 March 2018, the NCDC reported 394 laboratory confirmed cases. There were 18 new confirmed cases in the last reporting week (19-25 March 2018), compared to 54 confirmed cases a month earlier (19-25 February 2018)” say the report.

Wondimagegnehu Alemu, WHO Representative to Nigeria said, “We should interpret the recent declining trend in new cases with caution. The Lassa fever season is not yet over. We need to maintain vigilance and response operations, and ensure continued engagement with communities to help curb the further spread of Lassa fever,” said Alemu.

The current epidemic is Nigeria’s largest on record, with the number of confirmed cases in January and February alone exceeding the total number reported in the whole of 2017.

“By conducting research as the Lassa fever outbreak unfolds, Nigeria is pioneering a new approach. Until now, research in Africa has taken place much later in the response cycle. This is a new approach which opens the way to much more effective control of emerging and dangerous pathogens,” said Alemu.

“We are researching what has led to so many people becoming infected with Lassa fever,” said Chikwe Ihekweazu, Chief Executive Officer of the NCDC. “Even with a downward trend, until we can better understand the causes behind its rapid spread, we must treat the outbreak as a priority.” Whole genome sequencing can reveal information that contributes to the understanding and the control of infectious disease outbreaks.

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness, transmitted to humans through contact with food or household items contaminated by infected rodents. Person-to-person transmission can also occur, particularly in hospital environment in the absence of adequate infection control measures.

ANTHONIA OBOKOH