Nigeria combats another hemorrhagic fever

Nigeria is facing a serious health outbreak one year after successfully avoiding the Ebola epidemic that devastated three other West African countries.

Earlier this month, Nigeria’s health department officially declared a Lassa fever outbreak after the disease killed more than 40 people.

Lassa virus causes a hemorrhage-inducing fever and first surfaced in 1969, in the Nigerian town for which it is named. The virus, transmitted by vermin, is so far confined to West Africa. Its symptoms—headaches, sore throats, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding—are similar to those of Ebola. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ribavirin antiviral drug helps fight the virus when given to patients soon after an early diagnosis.

Isaac Adewole, the Nigerian minister of health, puts Nigeria’s Lassa fever fatality rate at 44 percent.

Adewole said the government is deploying response teams to the affected states and distributing ribavirin to those affected. The Ministry of Health also launched a National Lassa fever Action Committee at a meeting on Tuesday held to discuss the ongoing outbreak and how to respond effectively.

But Nigerians worry the ongoing efforts aren’t enough to put an end to the epidemic. This outbreak is not Nigeria’s first battle with Lassa fever. In 2012, the country faced nearly 400 suspected cases of the virus with a fatality rate of 50 percent.

Toyosi Raheem, president of the Association of Medical Lab Scientists of Nigeria, commended the government for supplying the needed antiviral drugs. But Raheem believes the country’s lack of adequate diagnostic labs has aided the persistence of the virus since it first emerged in 1969.

“The government should, as a matter of urgency, consider the situation of specialized public health laboratories against emerging and reemerging hemorrhagic fevers,” Raheem wrote in a statement released today.

Muhammad Askira, president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, also agreed the public health system needs restructuring.

“We should not wait until there is an outbreak to address the epidemic,” Askira said during a Sunday news conference.

As Lassa fever continues to spread into 10 of Nigeria’s 36 states, Adewole urged Nigerians to help fight the outbreak by storing food out of rats’ reach and washing all fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly.