Health minister: The obituary of Lassa Fever is next year

Isaac Adewole, minister of health, on Tuesday said Nigerians would mark the end of Lassa Fever in 2017.

Adewole said this in Abuja at the emergency national council of health meeting on the outbreak of the disease.

He revealed that the hemorrhagic fever has claimed 63 lives out of 212 suspected reported from 62 local government areas in 17 states.

Adewole listed the affected states as Bauchi, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers, Oyo, Ondo, Edo, Plateau, Gombe, Nasarawa, Lagos, Delta, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Zamfara and Kogi as well as the FCT.

He said there is high level of denial and conspiracy across some states, adding that health managers should not deceive executives by the pretence and silence.

The minister described the denial of Ebonyi to report five suspected cases and one death as conspiracy of denial.

He said every state should consider itself at risk and put measures to contain and prevent the disease, adding that the federal government would maintain high level of alert all year round.

“With the resources available we will collectively eliminate the disease in Nigeria soon,” he said.

“We have special facilities around us and we have adequate human resource to address the challenge.

“We will strengthen the Primary Health Care Centres across the country to enhance the surveillance mechanism.”

He minister said 5,000 Primary Health Care centres would be activated before the end of 2016.

“A committee had already been set up to map out health care centres across the country would benefit from the programme,” he said.

“At least one primary health care centre will be functional in a ward.”

In a related development, the minister announced that six most affected states will have Lassa fever diagnostic centres.

He said the states are Niger, Nasarawa, Taraba, Plateau, Bauchi and Ondo states; this is in addition to the six existing Lassa fever treatment centres.

According to him, the centres are Lassa fever Treatment Centre, Irrua, Edo; University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Borno; Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano.

Others are Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), University College Hospital Ibadan, and the National Centre for Disease Control, Asokoro, Abuja.