Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
17 JANUARY 2016
Nigeria: How Bauchi, Kano, Niger Fuelled Spread of Lassa
There are indications that Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic disease, reported to have killed about 43 people across Nigeria, may have spread from Bauchi, Kano and Niger States to about eleven states, including Abuja because of failure of health officials to report the cases in the three initially affected states to authorities in Abuja.
This comes as River State government has confirmed three persons dead from the viral disease with more than 200 currently under observation while Lagos State which has recorded one case has isolated persons suspected to have contact with the index case.
THISDAY checks revealed that the new phase of the disease first broke out in November 2015 in Bauchi, Kano and Niger States. While persons were dying, villagers and states' health officials buried the dead and failed to report the cases to relevant authorities.
And as contact with carriers of the virus continued unabated, it spread across states such as Plateau, Nasarawa, Rivers, Oyo, Abuja and now Lagos.
A typical case was Fuka in Niger State, which prompted the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, to visit the community. A miffed Adewole, was said to have expressed his displeasure on the poor handling of the outbreak of Lassa fever.
Also, with movement of persons from state to state, a cobweb of the virus appears to have gripped the country, with panic at all-time high, similar to the outbreak of Ebola virus last year.
The index case in Kano was believed to have been exported to the state from Bauchi State. The current case of Lassa fever in Abuja was said to have similarly been imported from Plateau to Kubwa, a town in the outskirts of Abuja metropolis.
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Nigeria: How Bauchi, Kano, Niger Fuelled Spread of Lassa
There are indications that Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic disease, reported to have killed about 43 people across Nigeria, may have spread from Bauchi, Kano and Niger States to about eleven states, including Abuja because of failure of health officials to report the cases in the three initially affected states to authorities in Abuja.
This comes as River State government has confirmed three persons dead from the viral disease with more than 200 currently under observation while Lagos State which has recorded one case has isolated persons suspected to have contact with the index case.
THISDAY checks revealed that the new phase of the disease first broke out in November 2015 in Bauchi, Kano and Niger States. While persons were dying, villagers and states' health officials buried the dead and failed to report the cases to relevant authorities.
And as contact with carriers of the virus continued unabated, it spread across states such as Plateau, Nasarawa, Rivers, Oyo, Abuja and now Lagos.
A typical case was Fuka in Niger State, which prompted the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, to visit the community. A miffed Adewole, was said to have expressed his displeasure on the poor handling of the outbreak of Lassa fever.
Also, with movement of persons from state to state, a cobweb of the virus appears to have gripped the country, with panic at all-time high, similar to the outbreak of Ebola virus last year.
The index case in Kano was believed to have been exported to the state from Bauchi State. The current case of Lassa fever in Abuja was said to have similarly been imported from Plateau to Kubwa, a town in the outskirts of Abuja metropolis.
READ MORE