Lagos State records 20 suspected cases of Lassa Fever

 

Lagos State has recorded twenty (20) suspected cases of Lassa Feveras at January 26, 2016, since the outbreak of the disease in the Country in November, 2015.

Fourteen (14) suspected cases tested negative, four (4) suspected cases were confirmed positive of Lasssa Fever, while the results of two (2) suspected cases are pending. One (1) case was confirmed on the 15^th January 2016, two (2) cases were confirmed on 18^th January 2016 and one (1) case was confirmed on 26^th January, 2016.

 

In a statement sent to us by Dr. jide Idris, Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, the Ministry has line-listed 537 contacts of the confirmed cases and 534 (99%) of the contacts are currently being monitored.

"The last confirmed case was a 27 years old Lady, who travelled to Edo State on December 24 2015 and returned to Lagos on January 2, 2016. She became ill on January 14, 2016 and received care in one private hospital and three churches before she was referred on January 23, 2016 to Ijede General Hospital with fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and body weakness. The patient died within a few hours of admission. The case was confirmed as Lassa Fever on January 26, 2016," Dr. Idris stated.

The remains of the patient has been kept in the morgue in leak proof body bag. She is to be buried after due consultation with her family. 

Ninety (90) persons have been line-listed as contacts of the last confirmed case as at January 26, 2016 and contact tracing is on-going. 

Route of Transmission of Lassa Fever

Members of the public are being sensitized to note that Lassa fever can be contacted through:

Ø Ingestion of foods and drinks contaminated by the saliva, urine and faeces of infected rats

Ø Catching and preparing infected rats as food

Ø Inhaling tiny particles in the air contaminated with infected rat urine or droppings.

Ø Direct contact with a sick person’s blood or body fluids, through mucous membranes, like eyes, nose or mouth.

Those at highest risk of Lassa Fever include:

Ø Families and friends of an infected person in the course of feeding, holding and caring for them.

Ø Health workers who have attended to infected persons.

 
Residents are urged to watch out for following signs and symptoms of Lassa fever which typically occur within 1-3 weeks after the patient comes into contact with the virus.

Ø Early symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, chills, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, backache, and joint pains.

Ø  Late symptoms include bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, bleeding from the mouth and rectum, eye swelling, swelling of the genitals and rashes all over the body that often contain blood.  It could progress to coma, shock and death.

How to prevent spread of Lassa Fever

Towards prevention of spread of Lassa Fever, residents are enjoined to:

Ø Observe a high level of personal and environmental hygiene.

Ø Ensure proper environmental sanitation (Using appropriate methods of collection and disposal of waste, avoid open defecation).

Ø Wash hands properly before and after cooking of foods.

Ø Eliminate rats from dwellings, avoid consumption of rat meat, protect food items from rodents by storing them in plastic containers with covers and cover all foods (including left-overs) and water properly.

Health workers are advised to:

Ø Be at alert to ensure early detection Lassa fever and other viral hemorrhagic fever in patients with high fever.

Ø Report any suspected case to the Primary Health Department of LGAs or the Ministry of Health.

Ø Observe universal safety precautions when attending to all patients.

·        See body fluids of all patients as possible sources of infection. These include blood, secretions, excretions and other body fluids.

·        Regular hand washing with soap and water.

·        Wear appropriate hand gloves

·        Protect the eyes and noses.

·         Wear gowns, protective clothing and caps.

·        Sterilise all instruments

·        Decontaminate linen and laundry.

·        Dispose of medical wastes appropriately

Ø Wear appropriate PPEs when attending to suspected/confirmed cases.

·        Hand gloves

·        Goggles

·        Face masks

·        Overall (gown).

·        Apron

·        Booths

Ø Wash their hands with soap and water regularly.

 

"All mortuary personnel are enjoined to follow strict Infection Prevention Control

measures when handling dead bodies. All mortuary personnel must wear elbow

length gloves, gowns, overall, goggles, face masks, booths when attending to corpses," Dr. Idris stated.

       Cases to be suspected are:

Ø Any person with persistent high fever not responding to standard treatment for malaria and typhoid fever.
 
Ø Any person with positive history of contact with an infected person or health worker who had treated either suspected or confirmed cases, who suddenly become ill.

The government, towards preventing and controlling the spread of Lassa Fever in the State, has:

Ø Established an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at the Ministry of Health (Conference Room) to coordinate response.

Ø Rapid response teams have been set up to carry out the following interventions:

·        Collect blood samples from suspected cases for investigation.

·        Transfer suspected and confirmed cases to separate isolation ward for observation and management.

·        Contact identification, listing and monitoring.

·        Case management.

·        Decontamination    

Ø Embarked on intensive awareness and sensitization campaigns through meetings with different stakeholders (market women, school teachers, religious leaders etc), radio jingles, media appearances and distribution of IEC materials.

Ø Supplied Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all General Hospitals, infection prevention commodities (PPEs, Lea Proof Body Bags etc) and antiviral drugs.

Ø Intensified Disease Surveillance activities for prompt detection of any new case.  

Ø Mobilised professional from the Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMH) and its agencies, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Association of Public Health Physician

Suspected cases should be reported to the nearest public health facility or notify the Ministry of Health on the following lines 08037170614, 08022234273, 08022241768 08033065303, 08033086660, 08055281442 and 08023169485.