Nigeria is currently experiencing it's worst Lassa fever outbreak in history and there's not enough outrage over it.
On Monday, April 16, 2018, 46-year-old Gadiel Ambe died at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, Adamawa state after suffering from a Lassa fever infection he picked up in Gembu, Sardauna local government area of Taraba state.
Ambe is the 102nd casualty of Lassa fever in the country since January 2018 when the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported the first confirmed case of the virus in Bauchi.
In that first situation report, the outbreak, an overflow from December 2017, was only active in five states: Bauchi, Plateau, Edo, Ondo and Nasarawa. Four months later in April, the outbreak of Lassa fever has already killed 102 people with suspected cases spread across 21 states in the country.
Across more than 57 local government areas, there are currently confirmed cases of Lassa fever in Abia, Abuja, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers and Taraba.
Ambe is the 102nd casualty of Lassa fever in the country since January 2018 when the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported the first confirmed case of the virus in Bauchi.
In that first situation report, the outbreak, an overflow from December 2017, was only active in five states: Bauchi, Plateau, Edo, Ondo and Nasarawa. Four months later in April, the outbreak of Lassa fever has already killed 102 people with suspected cases spread across 21 states in the country.
Across more than 57 local government areas, there are currently confirmed cases of Lassa fever in Abia, Abuja, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers and Taraba.
Five months ago, the NCDC's situation report indicated that only 92 people were confirmed killed by Lassa fever in 2016, which makes this year's return Nigeria's worst outbreak since 1969 when the virus was first identified from a case in the town of Lassa in Borno state.
What's the deal with Lassa fever anyway?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by rodents of the genus Mastomys, commonly known as the 'multimammate rat'. Multimammate rats are commonly found in grasslands or forests, urban areas and even inside houses throughout sub-Saharan Africa, which is why it's a problem endemic in West African countries such Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria.
According to a 2015 report by the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of Lassa virus infections per year in West Africa is crudely estimated at 100,000 to 300,000, with approximately 5,000 deaths.
WHO says, "The incubation period of Lassa fever ranges from 6-21 days. The onset of the disease, when it is symptomatic, is usually gradual, starting with fever, general weakness, and malaise.
"After a few days, headache, sore throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cough, and abdominal pain may follow.
"In severe cases, facial swelling, fluid in the lung cavity, bleeding from the mouth, nose, vagina or gastrointestinal tract and low blood pressure may develop."
Mastomys rodents are commonly found in and around homes, feasting on leftover human food items or poorly stored food, which makes direct contact transmission fairly easy. They are also consumed as food by certain communities.
The virus can also be transmitted from one person to another through body fluids such as blood and sperm.
Since the virus presents no unique symptoms, clinical diagnosis is often difficult especially at the early onset of infection.
The best way to prevent infection is by practising decent personal hygiene and avoiding contact with the carrier rodents, disposing of garbage far from the home, and banishing the urge to snack on rodents. (If you're not sure it's not a Mastomys rodent, it's probably best to not eat it just to be safe.)
Avoiding contact with the secretions of a contaminated person is also a safe way to not get infected. This is why health workers are advised to use the proper protective equipment to examine patients, isolate victims, and track down everyone they might have been in contact with to contain an outbreak.
What's the deal with Lassa fever anyway?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by rodents of the genus Mastomys, commonly known as the 'multimammate rat'. Multimammate rats are commonly found in grasslands or forests, urban areas and even inside houses throughout sub-Saharan Africa, which is why it's a problem endemic in West African countries such Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria.
According to a 2015 report by the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of Lassa virus infections per year in West Africa is crudely estimated at 100,000 to 300,000, with approximately 5,000 deaths.
WHO says, "The incubation period of Lassa fever ranges from 6-21 days. The onset of the disease, when it is symptomatic, is usually gradual, starting with fever, general weakness, and malaise.
"After a few days, headache, sore throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cough, and abdominal pain may follow.
"In severe cases, facial swelling, fluid in the lung cavity, bleeding from the mouth, nose, vagina or gastrointestinal tract and low blood pressure may develop."
Mastomys rodents are commonly found in and around homes, feasting on leftover human food items or poorly stored food, which makes direct contact transmission fairly easy. They are also consumed as food by certain communities.
The virus can also be transmitted from one person to another through body fluids such as blood and sperm.
Since the virus presents no unique symptoms, clinical diagnosis is often difficult especially at the early onset of infection.
The best way to prevent infection is by practising decent personal hygiene and avoiding contact with the carrier rodents, disposing of garbage far from the home, and banishing the urge to snack on rodents. (If you're not sure it's not a Mastomys rodent, it's probably best to not eat it just to be safe.)
Avoiding contact with the secretions of a contaminated person is also a safe way to not get infected. This is why health workers are advised to use the proper protective equipment to examine patients, isolate victims, and track down everyone they might have been in contact with to contain an outbreak.
There is no known vaccine yet for Lassa fever, but if caught early, it can successfully be treated with Ribavirin.
Government's culpability for outbreak
In January 2018, the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, blamed healthcare workers for getting infected with Lassa fever due to their refusal to take necessary precautions while treating patients.
When he made this statement, three health workers had just died in Ebonyi state. Since then, three more health workers (one each in Ebonyi, Kogi and Abia) have died, with a total of 27 health workers infected since the onset of the outbreak.
Government's culpability for outbreak
In January 2018, the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, blamed healthcare workers for getting infected with Lassa fever due to their refusal to take necessary precautions while treating patients.
When he made this statement, three health workers had just died in Ebonyi state. Since then, three more health workers (one each in Ebonyi, Kogi and Abia) have died, with a total of 27 health workers infected since the onset of the outbreak.
After the death of the first two health workers in January, other doctors in Ebonyi took to the streets of Abakaliki to protest the non-functionality of the South East Virology Centre in the state capital.
In 2016, the Ebonyi state government had built and 'equipped' the N350 million ultra-modern virology centre within the premises of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, and handed it over to the federal government who promised to instil effective management in the running of the health facility.
At the commissioning of the facility in 2016, Prof Adewole expressed hope that the centre would help curb the menace of Lassa fever ravaging the zone and assured that the purpose of the centre would never be defeated.
Two years later, he returned to the state in January to blame the government's failure to fully equip the centre on the outbreak of other deadly diseases across the country.
"It's quite unfortunate that you (Ebonyi government) handed the centre over to us but because of a few other things we could not respond immediately with the operationalisation of the lab.
"As we moved to operationalise the lab we had other challenges, we had monkeypox, we had meningitis and it appeared as if in trying to prioritise we thought Lassa has calmed down a bit, we decided to quickly address these diseases and also the yellow fever outbreak," he said.
The minister's embarrassing excuse is an indication of the federal government's culpability in the troublesome outbreak that the country has faced this year.
In 2016, the Ebonyi state government had built and 'equipped' the N350 million ultra-modern virology centre within the premises of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, and handed it over to the federal government who promised to instil effective management in the running of the health facility.
At the commissioning of the facility in 2016, Prof Adewole expressed hope that the centre would help curb the menace of Lassa fever ravaging the zone and assured that the purpose of the centre would never be defeated.
Two years later, he returned to the state in January to blame the government's failure to fully equip the centre on the outbreak of other deadly diseases across the country.
"It's quite unfortunate that you (Ebonyi government) handed the centre over to us but because of a few other things we could not respond immediately with the operationalisation of the lab.
"As we moved to operationalise the lab we had other challenges, we had monkeypox, we had meningitis and it appeared as if in trying to prioritise we thought Lassa has calmed down a bit, we decided to quickly address these diseases and also the yellow fever outbreak," he said.
The minister's embarrassing excuse is an indication of the federal government's culpability in the troublesome outbreak that the country has faced this year.
Despite battling Lassa fever outbreaks for 49 years, the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), Edo state, is the only specialist facility for the treatment of the disease in Nigeria.
What this means is that victims of Lassa fever from other regions usually have to make unnecessarily long road trips, in poorly equipped ambulances, to Edo state for the best care possible. The facility's Lassa fever isolation ward was overflowing with victims in late January so much that a makeshift tent had to be erected outside the ward to accommodate the growing number of cases.
What this means is that victims of Lassa fever from other regions usually have to make unnecessarily long road trips, in poorly equipped ambulances, to Edo state for the best care possible. The facility's Lassa fever isolation ward was overflowing with victims in late January so much that a makeshift tent had to be erected outside the ward to accommodate the growing number of cases.
While speaking about the outbreak this year, Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee and Consultant Family Physician University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Dr Nicholas Baamlong, blamed it on the lack of government funding of facilities and enforcement of environmental laws.
He lamented that the high infection rate of health practitioners is most notably due to a lack of necessary health equipment as well as appropriate treatment centres.
A virologist, Prof Simeon Agwale, also recently accused the government of lacking the political will to commit to producing vaccines for the disease. He urged the government to not look to the West for a vaccine solution since they don't suffer from the disease.
Another virologist, Oyewale Tomori, said the country should hang its head in shame as it is still chasing its tail over Lassa fever nearly 50 years after the first confirmed infection.
He said, "We should all hang our heads in shame for the unacceptable occurrence of Lassa fever in Nigeria. I say all of us, because we all know what to do - the government, the medical profession, the media, and the citizens. But we will not do what we know is right.
"When Ebola came visiting, the government immediately declared a national emergency, provided adequate resources and continually provided correct information to the people. As soon as we overcame Ebola, we went back to sleep."
He lamented that the high infection rate of health practitioners is most notably due to a lack of necessary health equipment as well as appropriate treatment centres.
A virologist, Prof Simeon Agwale, also recently accused the government of lacking the political will to commit to producing vaccines for the disease. He urged the government to not look to the West for a vaccine solution since they don't suffer from the disease.
Another virologist, Oyewale Tomori, said the country should hang its head in shame as it is still chasing its tail over Lassa fever nearly 50 years after the first confirmed infection.
He said, "We should all hang our heads in shame for the unacceptable occurrence of Lassa fever in Nigeria. I say all of us, because we all know what to do - the government, the medical profession, the media, and the citizens. But we will not do what we know is right.
"When Ebola came visiting, the government immediately declared a national emergency, provided adequate resources and continually provided correct information to the people. As soon as we overcame Ebola, we went back to sleep."
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