Lassa fever killing more Nigerians than coronavirus, yet it isn’t receiving due attention

Thursday, 16 April 2020 05:49

Lassa fever killing more Nigerians than coronavirus, yet it isn’t receiving due attention - Report

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In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Lassa fever has killed at least 188 Nigerians this year, with experts saying the disease has wreaked havoc since its discovery in the country 51 years ago.

Health officials have, therefore, called for a corresponding attention to end Lassa fever, emphasising that it is equally a deadly disease that has taken a toll on the citizens and medical practitioners over the years. It was gathered that from January this year to the first week of April, 963 people have fallen ill with the disease across 27 states of the country.

Lassa fever killed 56 people in the last week of February when the first case of coronavirus (COVID-19) was recorded in Nigeria.

As at Tuesday, April 14, Nigeria recorded 373 confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) and 11 deaths. This is by far below the number of people infected or killed by Lassa fever within the same period.

A breakdown showed that within the period, out of the 963 Lassa fever infections, the mortality rate is 19.52 per cent. On the other hand, out of the 373 cases of COVID-19 recorded, the mortality rate is 2.95 per cent.

It was also observed that out of the total of 199 mortalities recorded from both Lassa fever and COVID-19 within the period, Lassa fever accounted for 94.5 per cent of the total deaths while COVID-19 accounted for 5.5 per cent of the total deaths.

A situation report by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) also revealed that 985 people were receiving treatment at various centres for Lassa fever, saying 37 health workers have also been affected by the disease this year.

According to Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), six doctors have lost their lives to Lassa fever this year alone. This excludes laboratory scientists and technicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health workers that have lost their lives to the disease.

There are growing concerns that while attention is being paid to the coronavirus outbreak with financial interventions from the public and private sector, little or no attention is being paid to Lassa fever, which is wreaking more havoc and has been endemic since the country recorded its first case in 1969.

Daily Trust