Katsina State, on Wednesday, recorded a new case of Lassa fever, bringing the total of reported cases to three, with two deaths in the state recently.
A Consultant in Infectious Diseases at the Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina, Mohammed Abubakar, confirmed this in an interview with our Correspondent in Katsina.
Abubakar said, “As I’m talking to you now, in Katsina State, three cases have been confirmed. Two died. One was from Kafur, the other one was from Funtua.
“The third case is currently with us here in this isolation centre. As we’re having this interview, she’s recuperating well.”
He said the Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina is currently treating a female patient whose husband recently died from the disease.
“She is stable and responding to treatment,” he said.
He commended the hospital’s emergency response committee for promptly isolating the patient to prevent further spread and panic within the hospital.
He also raised an alarm over a disturbing shift in the pattern and severity of the current Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria.
Abubakar, who is also Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Katsina State, said the disease is proving deadlier this year, with a sharp rise in the number of deaths recorded among confirmed cases.
Speaking in an isolation centre where a newly confirmed patient is being treated, he said the current case fatality rate is significantly higher than in previous years.
“Previously, the fatality rate ranged between 10 and 30 per cent, but this year, nearly one in four infected persons is dying,” he said.
According to him, from January to date, more than 1,000 suspected and confirmed cases have been recorded nationwide, with about 145 deaths.
Abubakar said the outbreak, which usually peaks between January and March, has taken a different geographical pattern this year.
He explained that while previous outbreaks were concentrated in the North-East, particularly Borno and Yobe states, and parts of the South-South, especially Edo State, more than 90 per cent of current cases are now concentrated in five frontline states: Benue, Ondo, Taraba, Edo and Plateau.
“This shift may not be unconnected with climate change, insecurity, displacement of communities, poor hygiene and increased movement of rodents into homes,” he said.
He urged health workers to treat every case of fever with caution and ensure strict use of Personal Protective Equipment.
He identified the multimammate rat as the major carrier of the virus, describing the rodent as a small rat with multiple mammary glands and urged residents to take preventive measures to stop rats from entering homes.
He also warned parents against allowing children to hunt rats in bushes, noting that contact with the urine or droppings of infected rodents remains one of the major ways the disease spreads.
The NMA Chairman, however, called on the government to reduce delays in laboratory testing, noting “PCR test results should be made available within one to two days to ensure patients receive immediate treatment”.
He commended the Katsina State Government for providing drugs.
“The Executive Secretary of the Primary Healthcare Agency, the Incident Manager, the State Epidemiologist and the Commissioner have all been supportive in ensuring that drugs and other assistance reach us on time,” he said.
Lassa fever is a severe viral haemorrhagic disease commonly found in parts of West Africa.
It is caused by the Lassa virus and is mainly spread through contact with food or household items contaminated by the urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats.
The illness can present with symptoms such as fever, general weakness, headache, and sore throat.
In more serious cases, patients may experience bleeding, facial swelling, difficulty breathing, and shock.
