Nigeria Activates Emergency Response Centre to Combat Lassa Fever Outbreak

Lassa fever of which there has been a very recent outbreak in Nigeria has taken 190 lives and to avoid further loss of lives, Nigeria has opened a centre for managing and controlling the viral hemorrhagic illness the Nigerian Center for Disease Control has said.

Lassa fever, has infected 1,154 people in six states, a disease that is common via contact with food or items that contain urine or feces of rodents. NCDC has classified the event as being high risk and efforts to prevent further spread of the disease have been put into action.

Understanding the Lassa Fever Outbreak

According to Dr. Jide Idris the head of the NCDC, it was imperative that something was done about the outbreak. Speaking during a press briefing in Abuji, he said that although Lassa fever is a year-round disease, the outbreak is most likely to occur between October and May, which is the dry season in Nigeria, and may increase the frequency of human contact with rats.

“There’s an increased transmittance of Lassa fever during the dry season, according to Dr. Idris. “In the given case analysis, we determined a high risk level, thereby escalating to the Operations Centre to respond adequately to this outbreak.

This new response centre is anticipated to provide a central and efficient coordination point for monitor, investigate, prevent, alert, and educate the population to reduce its opportunities to interact with rodents.

Symptoms and Transmission of Lassa Fever

Due to Lassa fever’s nonspecific initial signs, diagnosis can be challenging; however, it is transmitted to individuals through contact with the rodent’s urine, feces, or saliva as well as:

A viral haemorrhagic fever also known as Lassa fever is caused by Lassa virus and the virus transmits from human to another through direct contact with infected persons’ body products such as blood. Unlike polio, the illness causes systematic symptoms including fever, headache, and general feelings of being unwell. In severe conditions, the condition worsens to organ failure then to death.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed Lassa fever in the priority group of diseases based on its capacity to become epidemic and because a vaccine is not available. This categorisation therefore necessitates immediate action and substantial investment to rigorously fund research for this disease.

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A Coordinated National Response

The NCDC’s emergency centre will be used as the primary coordinating centre to carry out contingency measures. Key initiatives include:

Enhanced Surveillance: Enhancing surveillance programs that will enable adequate identification of new cases of the disease as well as determine the progression of the disease.

Public Education Campaigns: Including information on how to prevent rodent contact, including touching food that may have come into contact with rodents or their droppings, handling raw meats and how to store food properly to discourage rodent access.

Healthcare Preparedness: Making sure that Hospitals that receive cases or admit patients with Lassa fever have adequate stocks and human resource in handling the disease.

Collaboration with Partners: As part of efforts to deal with the outbreak coordinating with International organizations such as WHO in harnessing expertise and resources.

Global Implications and the Way Forward

In addition to Nigeria, other neighboring West African countries are occasionally notified of recurrent Lassa fever epidemics. No approved vaccines are another issue that still hampers the fight against the disease.

Dr. Idris added that the governments as well as international partners should step up funding for research, development, manufacturing and deployment of vaccines to avoid occurrences of similar outbreaks in the future besides enhancing the public health systems in respective countries. “This is something that should really wake up the global health community – the fact that there are diseases out there that are dangerous for vulnerable populations, such as Lassa fever,” he said.

Preventive Measures for the Public

To curb the spread of Lassa fever, the NCDC has advised Nigerians to adopt the following precautions:

Minimize contact with food and scraps by storing foods in rodents’ proof containers and practice proper disposal of foods and garbage.

Most important keep the living areas clean including bedrooms and kitchens to discourage the presence of these animals.

Wash hands and avoid touching such fluids which could be released from the body of an infected person.

If one gets these signs of Lassa fever, he/she should visit a health care center as soon as possible.

A Call to Action

This is especially so given that Nigeria is currently facing this deadly outbreak and the opening of the emergency response centre is a major step in curtailing the growth of Lassa fever and public health. Though long term solutions must be directed towards the main vectors such as rodents and health facility access.

The response time of the NCDC underlines the effectiveness of preventive measures in case of managing public threats. If Nigeria brings all these principle into operation: collaboration, awareness, infrastructure, then not only this outbreak but future ones as well can be tackled effectively.