The present outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria has affected 15 states with 105 laboratory confirmed cases, three probable cases and 31 deaths as reported by Isaac Adewole, minister of health.
Adewole, who made this known at the Emergency National Council of Health in Abuja on Monday, February 5, 2018 said that in 2018 alone, Nigeria recorded 77 cases of Lassa fever.
According to him, the cases were in Bauchi, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi, Ebonyi, Rivers, Imo, Anambra, Edo, Delta, Ondo, Osun and Lagos states.
The minister said 10 health care workers were affected in four states; seven in Ebonyi with one health worker from Nasarawa , Kogi and Benue states.
Adewole said of the 31 deaths from Lassa fever outbreak, four health workers died as a result of the disease; three deaths were recorded in Ebonyi and one in Kogi.
The minister, therefore, said the meeting was summoned to discuss the state of public health challenges in Nigeria with focus on some the challenges that bedevilled the nation in the past few weeks.
Adewole added that Lassa fever has been a current outbreak in the country, stressing that Nigeria has battled with series of outbreaks in the past few months.
According to the minister, Nigeria has dealt with Ebola in 2014; the country reacted strongly and the response was acknowledged by the international community.
“The success against Ebola created a situation whereby every other public health challenge in Nigeria to be a tea party.
“Therefore assume that Lassa fever and other challenges would be likened to malaria, that they were not serious,’’ he said.
The minister, therefore, appealed to the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, and other research institutes to look into the changing dynamics of Lassa fever.
“Lassa fever use to occur only during dry season but now we are contending with an all year transmission of Lassa fever.
“NIMR director-general, other research institutes will need to find out whether we are dealing with new strain of Lassa fever virus in the country,” Adewole said.
He also urged state governments and other key stakeholders to work closely with Nigeria Centre of Disease Control to address outbreak of diseases.
The meeting was attended by a number of state Commissioners for Health and FCT health secretariat.
Participants at the meeting renewed their commitments to work with federal government facilities in their states to enhance disease surveillance and disease response programmes.
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