Ebonyi recorded 38 percent deaths out of 54 Lassa Fever cases ― Doctors Without Borders

Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders has called on community leaders to always ensure that their environments are clean with all pits closed to avoid Lassa fever spreading in their area.

According to MSF, prevention and early detection of Lassa fever are key to saving lives and also charged the masses to always re-wash their fruits with soap, and running water to avoid contamination of the virus.

The International Medical Organisation through its Ebonyi state Project coordinator, Elton Mbofana, disclosed this on Tuesday, while briefing journalists in Abakaliki.

According to Mbofana, about 38per cent of 54 patients treated in the state this year 2022 died in observation before their results came out due to late presentation.

He then disclosed that early diagnosis and treatment can radically increase people’s chances of survival.

Mbofana then urged Ebonyians to always avoid rats, take preventive hygiene measures with a focus to reduce mortality from the disease.

His words: “With the approach of the annual dry season in Nigeria, international medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is encouraging communities to take measures to help prevent Lassa fever. By detecting the disease early, and by taking preventive hygiene measures such as ensuring houses are free of rats, many people’s lives can be saved.”

He further noted that Lassa fever is a contagious disease that spreads through contact with infected rats and through uncovered food contaminated with rat faeces or urine.

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While urging people to avoid infected foods, he disclosed that the symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, sore throat, general body weakness, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pain, chest pain.

Others include unexplained bleeding from the ears, eyes, nose, mouth and other parts of the body.

“The time between infection and the appearance of symptoms ranges from three to 21 days. Lassa fever infects around 300,000 people in West Africa each year and causes around 5,000 deaths, with most cases in Nigeria occurring during the dry season from December to March,” he added.

Over recent years, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded an increase in cases of Lassa fever. From January to August this year, there were 894 reported cases, compared to 510 cases for the whole of 2021.

Elton also added that lack of personal protective equipment and sub-optimal infection prevention and control measures expose health workers to the virus and called on the government to support the fight against Lassa fever.

“There is no vaccine to prevent Lassa fever, while diagnosing the disease is complex and unaffordable for many. The main drug used to treat Lassa fever, Ribavirin, is also expensive, putting treatment out of reach for most people across West Africa. Ribavirin needs to be given to patients within six days of being infected and has not been proven effective in randomised controlled trials,” he said.

Recall that MSF began medical activities in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state, in March 2018 to respond to Lassa fever, with a focus on reducing transmission to healthcare workers and on improving case management to reduce mortality from the disease.

Meanwhile, the MSF Project Medical referent, Dr. Slaymen Ammar, charged the government to improve funding so that treatment of Lassa fever will remain free of charge when they are gone in 2025 so that staff in health facilities can implement effective infection prevention and control measures.

“The cost of treatment needs to be subsidised to ensure that everyone has early access to care,” “We urge the Nigerian health authorities to improve funding so that treatment of Lassa fever is free of charge and so that staff in health facilities can implement effective infection prevention and control measures. In addition, reducing the concentration of rodents through good waste management and food storage practices can also cut Lassa fever transmission and prevalence,” Ammar said.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Uzoma, MSF Health Promotion Manager urged people to always re-fry their garri to avoid contracting the virus.

The highlight of the briefing was an inspection of the Lassa fever buildings at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA).