One of the things that is inevitable in this world is sickness. Some are communicable while others are not. Thankfully, most of them are curable and preventable.
However, in recent times, numerous outbreak of diseases have occurred and one of them is LASSA FEVER.
Lassa fever is one of the fast circulating infectious disease in Nigeria. It is caused by the Lassa virus which is found in an infected multimammate rat. Nigeria is exposed to these rodents, which mostly resides in households, hence, it's possible infectious spread to humans.
Mode of Transmission
It can be transmitted through direct contact with urine and feaces of infected rat. Also, direct contact with infected people is another mode of transmission. People who live in rural areas are mostly at risk of being infected because of the presence of the large colonies of these rodents.
Signs and symptoms
Fever, Headaches, Bleeding and other severe complications such as hepatitis, diarrhea, hypertension, etc.
Frequency of cases in Nigeria
In Nigeria, Lassa Virus was first described in 1969 from a case in Lassa in Borno State. However, this 2018, Lassa Virus outbreak has been on the increase. A report released by The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has disclosed a total of 913 suspected cases across 17 states, out of which 54 deaths were recorded.
Imagine the number of families that are bereaved and souls that are lost to this deadly disease just within a space of seven weeks. Even health workers who treat patients most times fall victim to this infection.
...Any treatment/cure
It is said that the early use of
ribavirin is critical to success, meaning if its not detected on time might not work on patient(s).
...What can we do?
Preventive measures such as keeping rodents out of homes, storing foods properly out of the reach of rodents, maintaining personal hygiene effectively are taken seriously as there is no vaccine against the virus.
Aggressive sensitization of the Lassa virus present in rodents should be mostly communicated in rural areas as they kill them for food.
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Sources: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassa_fever
PS: I suggest that Corp members can be used for this awareness exercise since most of them are deployed to the rural parts of the states in Nigeria.
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