Nigeria: 102 Died From 510 Lassa Fever Cases in 2021 – Federal Govt
Federal Ministry of Environment has strengthened activities on environmental health and sanitation response to Lassa fever outbreak in the country after 11 deaths in 2022.
The ministry revealed that 102 deaths were recorded from 510 cases last year
Minister of state for the environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, at a function over the weekend, said her ministry had already embarked on environmental health and sanitation response campaign in 11 states of the federation to ensure improvement in environmental sanitation of premises, abatement of nuisance, rodent control, food hygiene and safety.
In a statement issued by the ministry’s director of press, Saghir el Mohammed, she said Nigeria is currently experiencing increasing number of reported Lassa fever cases across the country.
The most recent situation report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) of 16th January, 2022, indicated 96 confirmed cases and 11 deaths from 3rd to 16th January, 2022, in 27 local government areas across 11 states that include Bauchi, Edo, Ondo, Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi, Cross River, Ebonyi and Oyo.
This is in addition to the 510 confirmed cases and 102 deaths that occurred from January 2021 to 2nd January, 2022.
The minister revealed that before the recent outbreak, the Ministry had put in measures to improve the overall sanitation and hygiene situation in the country by establishing Sanitation Desks in all the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT to ensure proper monitoring and proactive measures on environmental health issues and concerns.
“This is in addition to the setting up of Environmental Health Surveillance Systems designed to strengthen cooperation between the states and Federal government on Environmental health and Sanitation issues which aids information/data gathering and sharing between the Federal, state and local governments.
“They are also involved in prevention and containment activities including surveillance/monitoring and reporting of Lassa fever cases and other environmental determinant diseases to the Federal Ministry of Environment headquarters. The Sanitation Desks are being replicated in all the 774 LGAs in the country,” she said.
Ikeazor added that, the Federal Ministry of Environment over the years had collaborated with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), World Health Organisation (WHO) and other stakeholders to carry out activities to prevent and contain the perennial Lassa fever outbreaks in Nigeria.
She stated that Environmental Health Officers in the Ministry, in collaboration with Sanitation Desks in the States and local government Environmental Health Officers are currently in the field implementing environmental sanitation response activities in Lassa fever affected states.
By Leadership.
