Lassa Fever: NCDC links increasing fatality rate to late medical care

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) attributes the rise in fatalities caused by Lassa fever to delays in seeking medical attention by infected individuals.

NCDC, its latest situation report on the disease, said late presentation of cases is leading to an increase in the case fatality rate of Lassa fever.

The report, issued on Wednesday, also links the rise in death cases to a country-wide poor health-seeking behaviour resulting from what it described as the high cost of treatment and clinical management of Lassa fever.

The report reads in part: “Late presentation of cases leading to an increase in CFR. Poor health-seeking behaviour due to the high cost of treatment and clinical management of Lassa fever and poor environmental sanitation conditions observed in high-burden communities”.

It added that poor awareness has been observed in high-burden communities.

Lassa fever

Lassa fever, a disease otherwise referred to as Lassa hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus, is primarily transmitted to humans through contact with food or household items contaminated by rodent urine or faeces.

The disease is endemic in West Africa, including in Nigeria, where the Mastomys rat, a species of rat that is a natural carrier of the virus, is very common.

New cases

Nigeria has reported 170 Lassa fever-related death cases between January and September 2024.

NCDC puts the case fatality rate of the disease for this year at 16.9 per cent, the same as recorded within the same period in 2023.

In its recent situation report, the agency disclosed that 115 suspected cases of the disease were reported in Edo, Ondo, and Enugu states last week, out of which five cases were confirmed and a death recorded.

This raises the total confirmed cases from 1000 to 1005 and death cases from 169 to 170. Currently, 8251 suspected cases of Lassa fever have now been recorded.

According to NCDC, 67 per cent of all confirmed Lassa fever cases that have been reported are from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states while the remaining 33 per cent is reported from 25 states.

“The predominant age group affected is 31-40 years. Also, the number of suspected cases increased compared to that reported for the same period in 2023,” the report noted.

WHO advice

Although Lassa fever is considered endemic in West Africa, the World Health Organisation said regional and global risks are considered low because the primary mode of transmission is primarily zoonotic, meaning that human-to-human transmission of the disease is low.

WHO said preventing Lassa fever centres on promoting strong community hygiene to stop rodents from entering homes.

It suggests that key steps include storing food like grains in rodent-proof containers, properly disposing of waste away from living areas, and maintaining cleanliness in the home.

WHO also suggested keeping cats to help control rodent populations.

In healthcare environments, WHO said, staff must always adhere to standard infection prevention protocols.

According to the global health body, these protocols include practising proper hand and respiratory hygiene, using personal protective equipment to avoid exposure to contaminated materials, ensuring injection safety, and adhering to guidelines for safe handling of the deceased.