100,000 Nigerians killed by Lassa fever in 44 years: official

ESTABLISHING MORE DIAGNOSTIC CENTERS WOULD HELP
IN REDUCING THE NUMBER OF LIVES LOST TO THE ILLNESS

BENIN, Nigeria (Xinhua) -- At least 100,000 Nigerians were killed by Lassa fever across the west African country in the last 44 years, an official said on Wednesday.

National Chairman of the Laboratory Council of Nigeria Dennis Agbonlahor said Lassa fever, which is an acute viral illness that occurs in west Africa, was first recorded in Nigeria when two missionary nurses died of its attack in 1969. Since then, he noted, the ravaging scourge of Lassa fever had claimed even more than 100, 000 lives in Nigeria till date.

This year, more than 11 persons had died from the illness in the new cases that were discovered in nine states across Nigeria, he said.

“There are only two Lassa fever diagnostic centers in the entire country and this is why we urge the government to establish such centers in different states across the six geopolitical zones of the nation,” Agbonlahor said at a public lecture organized by the College of Medical Sciences of the University of Benin in southern Nigeria’s Edo State.

According to him, establishing more diagnostic centers would help in reducing the number of lives lost to the illness, noting the only two existing diagnostic centers in Nigeria are currently situated at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital and Lahor Research Laboratory and Medical Center, both in the southern state of Edo.

The medical official described Lassa fever as a viral disease that seriously affects the blood, liver and spleen. It is also similar to the fever caused by Ebola and Marburg viruses, he added.

“The virus is spread by multimammate rats, called M. natalensis. The rat is characterized by a hairless tail, and has between 14-16 breasts. The tail is as long as the length of its body,” Agbonlahor explained, noting the virus is contained in the urine and faeces of the rat and spreads to humans through direct contacts with contaminated materials and infected persons.

He also called for a sustained enlightenment campaign on Lassa fever in Nigeria, to ensure a drastic reduction in rodent-human contact and human-to-human transmission.

Apart from Nigeria, the Lassa fever is endemic in few other west African countries including Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and also in the Central Africa Republic.

Symptoms of the deadly fever include sore throat, vomiting, headache, malaise and muscle pains, among others.

In 2012, the Nigerian government set up a Lassa Fever Rapid Response Committee to investigate, prevent and control outbreaks of the disease after it killed scores of people in 12 states across the country.

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