Nigeria battles largest Lassa fever outbreak with death toll reaching 72

LAGOS, Mar. 2– Nigeria’s Lassa fever outbreak has reached a
record high, resulting in 72 deaths and 317 laboratory-confirmed cases, the
World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday.

The acute viral hemorrhagic fever has been reported in 18 states since the
first case was detected on Jan. 1. Three southern states, Edo, Ondo, and
Ebonyi, have been the most affected, reporting 85 percent of the cases, WHO
said, quoting the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC). It also said
over 2,800 people who have come into contact with patients have been
identified and are being monitored. The number of cases confirmed by the
NCDC as of Feb. 25 crossed the total number of cases in 2017. The NCDC is
running its Emergency Operations Center at the highest possible level,
primarily focusing all available resources on controlling the outbreak.

Humans usually get infected with the Lassa virus from exposure to urine or
feces of infected mastomys rats. Other than common preventive measures such
as washing hands regularly, WHO is also recommending keeping cats. The NCDC
is asking Nigerians to prevent rats from getting to their foodstuff. Lassa
fever is endemic to several West African countries. Benin, Liberia and
Sierra Leone also reported cases in the past month. Wondimagegnehu Alemu,
WHO representative to Nigeria, said rapid detection of infection and early
treatment improve patients’ chances of survival. – XINHUA