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Archive Number 20071205.3925
Published Date 05-DEC-2007
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Lassa fever - Nigeria
LASSA FEVER - NIGERIA
**********************
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Tue 4 Dec 2007
Source: AllAfrica.com, This Dat (Lagos) [edited]
The Federal government has expressed concern over the poor attention
paid to the Lassa fever epidemic that has been ravaging the country,
saying that the acute viral illness with bleeding and death in severe
cases has been claiming an average of 5000 lives annually since the
epidemic 1st hit Nigeria in the 1980s. Minister of State for Health,
Mr. Gabriel Aduku, said the spread and impact of the sickness needed
to be checked to forestall a situation in which it would overwhelm
the population in the near future.
Aduku, who spoke at a media sensitization workshop to herald the
Regional Conference on Lassa Fever due to be held this week, said
although the Federal Ministry of Health has made some efforts and
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chinese
government in 2004, there was an urgent need to step up efforts in
the area. This, he said, would ensure a steady supply of drugs for
treatment of the ailment, provision of functional laboratory
services, as well as the development of an effective and affordable
vaccine for Lassa fever.
He recalled that some years ago, the Federal Ministry of Health
designated 3 federal tertiary health institutions as centres of
excellence for the control and management of the disease. According
to Aduku, the 3 centres -- namely the Irrua Specialist Teaching
Hospital, Edo State, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Borno
State, and the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State -- needed to
be strengthened through an update of their facilities to contain the
disease. He, however, assured the Lassa Fever Stakeholders Forum, the
conveners of the regional conference, of the government's continued
support in the task of combating Lassa fever in the country.
Chief Medical Director of the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital,
Professor Godwin Akpede, disclosed that the conference is aimed at
developing capacity towards containing the challenge of the epidemic
in the West African sub-region; delineating the constraints against
success in the efforts to reduce the prevalence, incidence and
mortality arising from the disease; and developing strategies for the
control and eradication of the disease.
Lassa fever was 1st encountered in the 1950s, and the virus was
identified in 1969. The virus is named after Lassa, the town in Borno
State, North Eastern Nigeria, where the 1st case of the disease
occurred. Since then, some states in Nigeria, such as Edo, Borno,
Nasarawa, Plateau, Ebonyi and Imo, have suffered ravages of the epidemic.
It is endemic to Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. The
disease is said to be spread by rats, which are, however, found
throughout West Africa. Therefore, the actual geographic range of the
disease may be more extensive. Evidence of the infection has also
been found in the Central African Republic, Congo, Mali and Senegal.
[Byline: Onwuka Nzeshi]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[Lassa fever was 1st described in the 1950s, although the virus
(_Lassa virus_, family _ Arenaviridae_, genus _Arenavirus_) was not
isolated until 1969. The disease occurs in West Africa and is
transmitted to humans from wild rodents through direct or indirect
contact with the excreta of infected animals. Person-to-person and
laboratory infections occur, particularly in the hospital
environment, by direct contact with blood or other body fluids of patients.
The onset of disease is gradual, with fever, vomiting and
retrosternal pain. Signs may include conjunctival infection,
periorbital edema and swelling of the neck. Deafness occurs in 25
percent of all patients. In severe cases, patients suffer shock,
fluid in the lung cavity, haemorrhage and cerebral edema.
Approximately 15 percent of hospitalized patients die, but the
outcome can be improved by simple supportive care if provided early
in the course of the disease. Specific treatment with the antiviral
drug ribavirin may also be effective.
The signs and symptoms of Lassa fever may be difficult to distinguish
from severe malaria, typhoid fever, yellow fever and other viral
haemorrhagic fevers, but definitive diagnosis requires confirmation
by laboratory testing. Health education strategies for preventing
infections in people living in endemic areas focus on rodent control
and minimizing contact with rodent excreta. Measures to control virus
transmission from cases include routine use of standard precautions,
isolation of suspected cases and surveillance of contacts.
Lassa fever is endemic in several West African countries. According
to the WHO as well as Nigeria, the most severely affected countries
are Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, and Ghana. The
incidence of Lassa fever has been increasing in all areas,
particularly in regions of social and political strife.
A map of the provinces of Nigeria can be accessed at
http://www.ngex.com/nigeria/places/default.htm. - Mod.CP]
Published Date 05-DEC-2007
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Lassa fever - Nigeria
LASSA FEVER - NIGERIA
**********************
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Tue 4 Dec 2007
Source: AllAfrica.com, This Dat (Lagos) [edited]
The Federal government has expressed concern over the poor attention
paid to the Lassa fever epidemic that has been ravaging the country,
saying that the acute viral illness with bleeding and death in severe
cases has been claiming an average of 5000 lives annually since the
epidemic 1st hit Nigeria in the 1980s. Minister of State for Health,
Mr. Gabriel Aduku, said the spread and impact of the sickness needed
to be checked to forestall a situation in which it would overwhelm
the population in the near future.
Aduku, who spoke at a media sensitization workshop to herald the
Regional Conference on Lassa Fever due to be held this week, said
although the Federal Ministry of Health has made some efforts and
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chinese
government in 2004, there was an urgent need to step up efforts in
the area. This, he said, would ensure a steady supply of drugs for
treatment of the ailment, provision of functional laboratory
services, as well as the development of an effective and affordable
vaccine for Lassa fever.
He recalled that some years ago, the Federal Ministry of Health
designated 3 federal tertiary health institutions as centres of
excellence for the control and management of the disease. According
to Aduku, the 3 centres -- namely the Irrua Specialist Teaching
Hospital, Edo State, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Borno
State, and the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State -- needed to
be strengthened through an update of their facilities to contain the
disease. He, however, assured the Lassa Fever Stakeholders Forum, the
conveners of the regional conference, of the government's continued
support in the task of combating Lassa fever in the country.
Chief Medical Director of the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital,
Professor Godwin Akpede, disclosed that the conference is aimed at
developing capacity towards containing the challenge of the epidemic
in the West African sub-region; delineating the constraints against
success in the efforts to reduce the prevalence, incidence and
mortality arising from the disease; and developing strategies for the
control and eradication of the disease.
Lassa fever was 1st encountered in the 1950s, and the virus was
identified in 1969. The virus is named after Lassa, the town in Borno
State, North Eastern Nigeria, where the 1st case of the disease
occurred. Since then, some states in Nigeria, such as Edo, Borno,
Nasarawa, Plateau, Ebonyi and Imo, have suffered ravages of the epidemic.
It is endemic to Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. The
disease is said to be spread by rats, which are, however, found
throughout West Africa. Therefore, the actual geographic range of the
disease may be more extensive. Evidence of the infection has also
been found in the Central African Republic, Congo, Mali and Senegal.
[Byline: Onwuka Nzeshi]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[Lassa fever was 1st described in the 1950s, although the virus
(_Lassa virus_, family _ Arenaviridae_, genus _Arenavirus_) was not
isolated until 1969. The disease occurs in West Africa and is
transmitted to humans from wild rodents through direct or indirect
contact with the excreta of infected animals. Person-to-person and
laboratory infections occur, particularly in the hospital
environment, by direct contact with blood or other body fluids of patients.
The onset of disease is gradual, with fever, vomiting and
retrosternal pain. Signs may include conjunctival infection,
periorbital edema and swelling of the neck. Deafness occurs in 25
percent of all patients. In severe cases, patients suffer shock,
fluid in the lung cavity, haemorrhage and cerebral edema.
Approximately 15 percent of hospitalized patients die, but the
outcome can be improved by simple supportive care if provided early
in the course of the disease. Specific treatment with the antiviral
drug ribavirin may also be effective.
The signs and symptoms of Lassa fever may be difficult to distinguish
from severe malaria, typhoid fever, yellow fever and other viral
haemorrhagic fevers, but definitive diagnosis requires confirmation
by laboratory testing. Health education strategies for preventing
infections in people living in endemic areas focus on rodent control
and minimizing contact with rodent excreta. Measures to control virus
transmission from cases include routine use of standard precautions,
isolation of suspected cases and surveillance of contacts.
Lassa fever is endemic in several West African countries. According
to the WHO as well as Nigeria, the most severely affected countries
are Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, and Ghana. The
incidence of Lassa fever has been increasing in all areas,
particularly in regions of social and political strife.
A map of the provinces of Nigeria can be accessed at
http://www.ngex.com/nigeria/places/default.htm. - Mod.CP]
