Following a four and half months of combating Lassa fever in 21 states, with 129 deaths recorded, the Nigeria Centre or Disease Control (NCDC) has today declared the Lassa fever emergency phase over.
The declaration was made in a statement co-signed by the Director-General, NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu and the Officer-in-Charge, World Health Organisation (WHO) Nigeria, Clement Peter.
It noted that the emergency phase of the Lassa fever outbreak was declared over after a joint epidemiological review by NCDC, WHO and other stakeholders was held.
It could be recalled that earlier this the NCDC declared a Lassa fever emergency in the country. Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus. Symptoms include fever, weakness, headaches, vomiting, and muscle pains.
According to Ihekweazu, the 2019 outbreak of Lassa fever recorded a decline in fatality due to the quick response of health workers. 129 deaths were recorded out of 26,578 confirmed cases, as to when compared to 2018 which had 158 deaths out of 431 confirmed cases.
However, the 21 affected states are Ondo, Oyo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Delta, Cross River, Edo, Rivers, Kebbi, Kaduna, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, Adamawa, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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