317 Lassa fever cases in 2 months eclipse entire 2017 record


The ongoing Lassa fever epidemic reached record high with 317 cases in the first two months of 2018, surpassing the total cases recorded for the entire 2017.
This week alone, laboratory tests confirmed 54 new cases of the disease in eight states, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
Between January 1 and February 25, 1,081 cases suspected to be Lassa have been reported across 18 states and 90 people have died.

In the first six weeks of 2018 alone, some 458 cases were supposed to be Lassa: 125 were confirmed by lab tests, and 36 people died across 27 states.. by contrast last year, 138 suspected cases were reported across 10 states and 21 people died.
At least 69% of the all the infections this year have been in Edo and Ondo states.

The latest confirmed infections also come from Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Plateau, Kogi, Imo and Ekiti—and include 14 health workers.
Over the weekend, 42 people were hospitalised at Irrua Specialist Hospital, which runs a reference lab for Lassa fever. All 21 isolation beds at Federal Medical Centre, Owo are occupied,  NCDC said in its situation report.

Ten new deaths have been recorded in Ondo, Edo, Plateau, Ekiti, and Ebonyi.
At least 2,845 have been identified across states, and 1,897 are currently being followed up to determine their status.

NCDC has called on residents in most-affected states of Ondo, Edo and Ebonyi to keep focus on prevention by keeping rodents away from foodstuff.
“For those that fall ill with fever, it is important to go to a healthcare facility in order to get a test that will determine the cause of the fever, before treating,” it said in its latest situation report on Wednesday.

Health minister Isaac Adewole has asked states to invest resources to protect health of residents by informing them of risks and simple measures to prevent infection.
NCDC activated a reference laboratory in Abuja, adding a third to the two existing labs that can test for Lassa at Irrua and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.

Efforts are currently being made to ensure that there is a functional molecular laboratory with the capacity to test for Lassa fever in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country, the centre said.
Meanwhile the West African Health Organisation is helping coordinate response in neighbouring Benin Republic, where 20 cases have been reported.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Church should leave politics - Ekere

Image
Politicians have joined to destroy the church - Rev Isangedighi Obong Nsima Ekere, the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State, and Rev Effiong Isangedighi, a former National Treasurer of the Assemblies of God, on Friday decried the meddling of Christian leaders in the politics of the state. They spoke at the funeral ceremony of Apostle Patrick Jerome, the Prelate of the Christ Believers (Evangelical) Mission, at Unity Park, Uyo. In his tribute to the late man of God, Obong Ekere urged Christian leaders to concentrate on the propagation of the gospel and refrain from partisan politics. "My appeal to all of us, especially the church, is that we should emulate this man of God and go back to the old ways of God. Most importantly, the church should please leave politics out of church. In the memory of our Apostle Jerome, our Christian fathers should concentrate on the teaching of the gospel of salvation and Christ-like life. I believe that if C...
Read more

Musa Wada Congratulates Yahaya Bello.

Image
Its Time To Move On Every General knows when its time to move on. He knows when to call off the battle and prepare for the next war. Above all, he knows when he has given the best and it did not yield the expected results. Perhaps, God, who rules in the affairs of men decided otherwise. Ever since I decided to run for the governorship seat of Kogi State, the entire exercise has been trailed by controversies. My character has been maligned and I have been blackmailed and betrayed by many, including some people very close to me. In some other instances I was humiliated. But I did not despair or faint. I took it all in my strides, believing that it is the nature of politics in this part of the world. To prove the genuineness of my ambition I appealed to men and women of goodwill. I spoke on the need for everyone, not only members of my political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to give me a chance. And there is no doubt that we had a good team and one of the best campaigns, sprea...
Read more

Tinubu the best to Head APC Reconciliation

Image
The Audu/Faleke Political Organisation in Kogi State has thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, as head of the party’s National Reconciliation Committee. The group described the move as a step in the right direction and a life-saving measure. A statement by its spokesman, Alex Kadiri, said: “We believe that this development is not only a step in the right direction, but a life saving measure, especially at this time that our party is enmeshed in crisis. “As responsible and foundation members of the party, we are not averse to efforts geared towards its well-being. This accounts for why we made ourselves available before two previous similar committees, though the National Working Committee (NWC) failed to implement its findings. “Our enthusiasm for this party is dampened by the assumption by most Nigerians that the issue in Kogi APC is merely between Governor Yahaya Bello and Senator Dino Melaye. But we do ...
Read more