Ondo State government has explained why the state topped the list of states with confirmed number of Lassa fever cases in the country.
The government also confirmed 125 cases of Lassa Fever from six local government areas in the state between January 1 to February 18, 2022.
Lassa fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic disease, is transmitted to humans through contact with food, household items contaminated by infected rodents or contaminated persons.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) situation report for January 17 to January 23, shows that Ondo topped the list of states with 28 new infections, followed by Edo and Bauchi with 18 cases each.
Also, the World Health Organization in its latest report published on 14 of February, 2022, Nigeria, from 3 to 30 January 2022, 211 laboratory confirmed Lassa fever cases including 40 deaths (case fatality ratio: 19%) in 14 of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, while three states comprising Ondo (63), Edo (57) and Bauchi (53), account for 82% of confirmed cases.
Speaking in exclusive interview with Niger Delta Connect, Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Ajaka Awolowo explained that Ondo topped NCDC list because it has high index of suspicion and one of the few states that have the capacity to perform molecular test.
Dr Ajaka said: “We are among the few state in the country that have capacity to test. We discover almost every case. This year alone, we’ve tested about 368 cases and we’ve confirmed 125 cases. This is not so in other places, because they don’t have the capacity to test. That means, we are not likely to miss any patient with lassa fever, that is why you see such high number of cases in Ondo State.
“We have capacity to test and the first we do is high index of suspicion. Anybody with symptoms of fever, weakness and other symptoms that could be taken for malaria fever but when it get to a level where you have bleeding from the oral faeces from the nose, mouth, ear and other complications, then, it is moving to an advanced stage”.
The commissioner said the ministry, in collaboration with other agencies are all over the affected local governments, engaging the communities, sensitizing the traditional rulers on lassa fever, creating awareness and sensitization through jingles on radio and other media engagements.
“As a ministry, we are coordinating a response with partners like the Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF).
“If you move along the road, going towards the North, you see that people who are processing their cassava would spread it along the road. The rats that normally spread this disease are in the bush, while eating this cassava, they can urinate on it, pass faeces on it, and at the end, you see people contracting lassa from the food”, Ajaka added.
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Also speaking with Niger Delta Connect, the Chief Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Owo, Dr Liasu Adeagbo Ahmed said the annual peak of Lassa fever cases is typically observed during the dry season (December–April). Thus, the number of infections is expected to rise further until the end of the dry season.
He said: “Whatever statistics gotten from Ondo does not mean that it’s restricted to the state alone, because we have other states that have boundary with the state like Kogi, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, most of these cases come from there
“During the dry season, there is burning of bushes and due to that, the rat, which is the major animal that transmit the virus move from the bush to various houses and if we don’t take care of our food very well, it get contaminated by faeces, and urine”, he stressed.
Dr Ahmed said, from January, FMC Owo has treated 90 cases and up till date, it has confirmed 60 cases and in contrast, noticeably less Lassa fever cases with less geographical spread were reported for the same period in 2021, noting that the state government used a method in eradicating the rats in 2021 which led to the reduction in the number of cases.
The CMD advised residents of the state to maintain personal hygiene, discourage rodents from entering their homes, most especially, mastomys rats and cultivate the habit of storing their grain and other foodstuffs in rodent-proof containers.
He also called for the attitude of disposing waste far from homes, maintaining clean households and consider rearing cats.
A 32 year-old victim of virus who preferred anonymity told Niger Delta Connect that, “at first, I thought it was malaria, so I visited a pharmacy where I got the normal malaria drugs but after taking it, there was no improvement, so I visited a Doctor who took my sample, though, he gave me some treatment. So, after some days, he called to tell me that it was Lassa fever, that I should go to FMC Owo. So, I got here last week and since then, they’ve been giving me treatment and am recuperating.
“The symptoms include body pain, weakness and stomach pain but can’t even think of how I contracted the virus.
“Honestly, I’ve been hearing of the virus, but I never knew was a serious issue. So, I would really want the government to do the needful in order to put an end to this disease, if possible, there should be a vaccine against this harmful disease”, the victim added.
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