Two medics have been confirmed killed by Lassa fever in the last 72 hours in Oyo state, southwestern Nigeria, a medical association said on Thursday.
In a statement, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) described the Lassa fever outbreak in the country as “a new onslaught”, noting that it broke out “when we thought COVID-19 had does its work”.
“We are concerned for other health workers who have been in contact with the deceased without knowing it,” the NMA said, adding that it had advised other health workers affected to be quarantined and treated. all febrile illnesses with a high index of suspicion.
Lassa fever is usually transmitted when the saliva, urine, and feces of rats come into contact with humans through their food or water. Human-to-human transmission is rare but can occur through contact with bodily fluids of an infected person.
In some cases, Lassa fever has symptoms similar to those of malaria, appearing between one and three weeks after exposure to the virus. In mild cases, the disease causes fever, fatigue, weakness and headache.
As part of measures to contain the outbreak among medical workers, the NMA said it has instructed frontline doctors and other healthcare workers to wear appropriate personal protective equipment at all times.
On Saturday, the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said the death toll from Lassa fever in Africa’s most populous country stood at 86 as of February 21.
He said 74 of the country’s 774 local government areas had been affected by the haemorrhagic fever since January.
The case fatality rate in the country has reached 19.1% since the start of the year, according to the NCDC.
The latter said he was distributing medical intervention products to states and treatment centers, as part of measures to control the spread.
Nigeria has activated the national multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary Lassa fever emergency operations center in response to the outbreak since late January.
Lassa Fever Prevention Measures
According to the WHO, Prevention of Lassa fever requires the promotion of good “community hygiene” to prevent rodents from entering homes. Effective measures include keeping cereals and more generally foodstuffs in rodent-resistant containers, disposing of garbage away from dwellings, maintaining cleanliness inside them and the presence of cats.
The rats Mastomys are so abundant in endemic areas that it is impossible to eliminate them completely from the environment. Families should always take care to avoid contact with a sick person’s blood and body fluids.
In a medical setting, staff should always take standard infection prevention and control precautions when caring for patients, regardless of the presumed diagnosis. These precautions include basic hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, wearing personal protective equipment (to protect against splashes or other contact with contaminated materials), injection safety and funeral rites.
Health care workers caring for suspected or confirmed cases of Lassa fever should take additional infection control measures to avoid contact with the patient’s blood or body fluids and with contaminated surfaces or materials such as clothes and bed linen. During close contact with patients (within one meter), they should wear face protection (face shield or surgical mask and goggles), a clean, non-sterile, long-sleeved gown and gloves (sterile for certain medical procedures).
Laboratory personnel are also at risk. Specimens taken from humans or animals to test for Lassa virus infection should be handled by trained personnel and analyzed in adequately equipped laboratories.
Rarely, travelers from endemic areas export the disease to other countries. Although malaria, typhoid fever and many other tropical infections are much more common than Lassa fever, this diagnosis should be considered in febrile patients returning from West Africa, especially if they have traveled to rural areas or hospitals in countries where Lassa fever is known to be endemic. Health workers who see a suspected case should immediately contact local or national experts to seek advice and arrange for laboratory testing