WorldStage Newsonline- The Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN) have expressed concerned over the outbreak of Lassa fever virus disease in some parts of the country and its potential of spreading to other states.
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He said the states are Niger, Nasarawa, Taraba, Plateau, Bauchi and Ondo States.
Prof Adewole blamed the outbreak of Lassa fever in some states on the failure of the surveillance system in Nigeria.
The minister further stated that the current outbreak was due to ignorance and that it is a national embarrassment.
He said: “There is a high level of denial and a conspiracy of silence in some of our states”.
She added, however, “We are happy to tell everybody that there is only one case, up till now, it is still one case and the only case is still stable because he is undergoing treatment”.
“We also want to alert all health professionals in the country that they should report any case”. We can manage embarrassment, but when we allow another outbreak to occur in August this year, it will become a national shame to all of us.
He said: “We inaugurated a Lassa Fever eradication committee chaired by one of the foremost virologists in this country and we are committed to signing Lassa Fever’s obituary this year”.
The Federal Government said on Tuesday that Lassa fever has claimed 63 lives out of 212 suspected reported cases from 62 local government areas in 17 affected states.
The National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Prof.
No fewer than 212 suspected cases of Lassa Fever has been confirmed by the Federal Government on Monday.
The meeting broadly aimed to lay the foundation for a Multi-Sectoral Response to the Lassa Fever Outbreak as a matter of urgency.
In his presentation, the Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kabiru Getso, said the state had recorded some confirmed cases and two deaths.
“We are waging total war and that is: ‘War against Rats, ‘ and that is what we are going to do to ensure we do not have another victim of Lassa Fever in the state”. It sounds more logical that we should worry as much, if not more, about the source of the disease and how to control it alongside the care for those already infected, in the hope that we could nip in the bud, exposing more people that could have been infected in future.
It can also be passed from human to human and in Lagos state, 92 people are being traced after they came into contact with the index case.
Rivers TUC Chairman, Mr Chuka Onuegbu in a statement, yesterday, described Lassa fever as even more deadly than the dreaded Ebola that was effectively contained in the country.
The council noted the efforts of the Ministry of Health, its agencies and parastatals, as well as the efforts of all states including non-affected states which are actively strengthening their surveillance systems, awareness and health programme campaigns.
Other members include Prof.
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He said the Federal Ministry of Health and the Lagos Ministry of Health are in contact daily with the hospital for update.
