No fewer than 78 Nigerians have been confirmed dead and 353 others infected in what has been described as “unprecedented” outbreak of Lassa fever in the country. Sixteen health workers were infected out of whom four died within eight weeks of the outbreak.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), in a statement, 766 are suspected to be infected while 3,126 contacts have been identified and are being monitored.
The NCDC said that the disease has spread to 18 states since it began in January, adding that it is working with Medicins San Frontiers and Alliance for International Medicine Action to manage cases in Ondo, Edo and Anambra states.
The Director of the NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu said that many of the cases were self-managed and not tested at the onset because the illness is thought to be malaria, a disease endemic to Nigeria and whose symptoms mimic Lassa fever.
He asked to those with symptoms of fever to go to a health care facility in order to get a test that will determine the cause of the fever before treating.
Lassa fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic illness, is endemic in most of West Africa, especially Nigeria, where it was discovered in 1969. Symptoms can be mild or severe, including hemorrhaging in the gums, eyes or nose.
According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease is transmitted to humans through contact with food or items contaminated by multimammate rats or through contact with bodily fluids from an infected person.
On average, Lassa fever is deadly in 1% of all individuals infected, with higher rates of 15% morbidity among people hospitalized with the illness.
According to an NCDC report on March 4, the case fatality ratio in the latest outbreak was 23.8%. [myad]
