SAN FRANCISCO, February 17, (THEWILL) – In the last one-week, 31 persons have died from the resurgent Lassa Fever epidemic in Nigeria. Apart from the deaths that were spread across 15 states, over 105 new cases have been confirmed in laboratory tests, as reported by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole. Yet, many others are still undergoing confirmation tests.
Adewole, who spoke at the Emergency National Council of Health in Abuja, added that the country has recorded over 77 cases of the Disease since January. The resurgence of this disease calls for serious concern, especially as the country had curtailed its prevalence at its last outbreak.
So far, the states that the disease has touched are Osun, Lagos, Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi, Ebonyi, Rivers, Imo, Bauchi, Plateau, Anambra, Edo, Delta and Ondo states. Curiously, among the dead were 10 healthcare workers in Ebonyi, Nasarawa, Kogi and Benue states.
Given the intra and intercity movement of people on daily basis, it is feared that many more could be affected in states without the disease.
The Federal and State Governments must demonstrate that they have the capacity to contain the spread of the disease as was done with Ebola in 2014. But, THEWILL is worried that the poor state of facilities at the various public hospitals, coupled with poor funding of teaching hospitals and research institutes may pose a major challenge.
Of great concern is the report that the Specialist Teaching Hospital at Irrua in Edo State does not have adequate facilities to treat the disease. As the only facility in Nigeria and the West African sub-region that treats the disease, the crass neglect of the hospital is a pointer that Nigeria does not have value for the healthcare of its citizens.
THEWILL therefore urges an immediate declaration of a state on emergency on the health sector.
Only recently, the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, released N100 million to support the hospital. The money, being the first tranche, was for the purchase of four dialysis machines, ventilators, personal protective equipment, drugs and other necessary consumables that are required for the treatment of Lassa fever patients.
THEWILL urges fumigation of markets and other public places to kill rats, as the Lagos State government did during the last outbreak of the disease.
We urge governments at all levels to give priority to healthcare and resolve issues that tend to weaken the morale of health workers in handling challenges as this Lassa fever. This is more apt as they have also become casualties in the task of treating the disease.
Even now, the Federal Government has continued to demonstrate its negligence on issues affecting public health, in its brazen disregard to the workers in the Joint Research and Allied Institutions Sector Union (JORAISU), whose over 80- day strike, especially as it affects the teaching hospitals, is yet to be called off.
The Federal Government must deploy every human and material resource in ensuring that the disease does not spread any further. It is very topical too, that a nationwide sustainable awareness campaign, on the causes, symptoms and prevention of the disease be carried out.
In the villages where crops are still being dried in the open places, rats, being the vector of the disease could be difficult to completely eliminate. The same is true of markets and residential areas where people live in overcrowded and dirty environment.
It is for these reasons that we call for such nation-wide campaign to be all-inclusive at the federal, state, local government and ward levels.
THEWILL believes that it is better to prevent the disease now than to incur heavier casualties if it spreads further, especially with its attendant complications of tracing contacts of patients.
