The resurgence of Lassa fever

IN January, the outbreak of Lassa fever increased with geometric progression. For instance, on January 27, the Plateau State government confirmed that there were 17 new Lassa fever cases in the state, adding that “five have so far died of the fever in the past few days.” The  state Commissioner for Health, Kamshak Kuden, who confirmed the outbreak of the disease, added that it was prevalent in five local government areas of Jos North, Jos South, Bassa, Riyom and Shendam. More disturbingly, Edo State recorded 60 cases of the disease, with Etsako-West Local Government Area alone recording 30 confirmed cases of Lassa fever in January. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC), had previously confirmed that by January 13, the agency had recorded 16 deaths from 60 confirmed cases of Lassa fever in eight states of the federation. He further added that 590 out of 593 contacts were currently under watch in the affected states since the beginning of the year.

Since 2015, Nigeria has witnessed the recurrence of Lassa fever outbreaks. In that year, it recorded about 284 cases, out of which 154 persons died. In 2016, 273 cases were recorded with 149 deaths in 23 states. During the 2017 outbreak in 19 states, 501 cases were confirmed and 104 persons died of the disease. As of July 8 2018, a total of 2115 suspected cases had been reported from 21 states. Of these, 446 were confirmed positive, resulting in 108 deaths. Thus, Lassa fever seems to have become a national routine that occurs during the dry season. Sadly, there is no sign that the country will be able to address it in the near future, except drastic and consistent measures are taken to prevent and control the epidemic.

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In 2016, the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, told State House correspondents:“I call it an embarrassment because as a nation, we should not witness Lassa fever every year; it is rather abnormal for a nation that has resources like us to be witnessing such epidemic.” He promised that with the strengthening of the country’s epidemiology surveillance and response system, Lassa fever would be put under lock and key. It is therefore disturbing that over two years later, the country is experiencing another major outbreak.

Certainly, the recurrence and spread of Lassa fever show that the disease surveillance and response system remains poor. This is particularly worrisome given the fact that the disease usually occurs during the dry season, between January and April. The NCDC needs to explain to Nigerians why the cases are increasing in spite of its  claim that it has “activated an Emergency Operations Centre to coordinate the response.” As we noted in an editorial last year, every public hospital of note in the country should by now have been equipped with the facilities to diagnose the virus. The current practice of waiting for an outbreak before scampering in different directions in search of a solution is defeatist and irresponsible.

Lassa fever, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), can be prevented by good “community hygiene.” It noted that the disease is transmitted to humans through rodents. Effective measures to tame it include preventing rodents from entering homes, storing grains and other foodstuffs in rodent-proof containers, disposing of garbage far from the home, maintaining clean households and keeping cats. To prevent its spread, family members are advised to always be careful and avoid contact with blood and body fluids while caring for sick persons. We urge all Nigerians to adhere to the preventive measures. We wish the families of the departed the grace to pull through in this hour of need.