Agaju Madugba, Katsina
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has pledged to sustain collaboration with state governments where cases of Lassa fever are reported in a bid to effectively manage the epidemic.
Director General of the centre, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, stated this in in Abuja, yesterday, when he gave an update on the outbreak of the disease.
“Since the beginning of the 2020, there has been a total of 365 confirmed cases and 47 deaths reported from 23 states as at February 2, 2020. The good news is that in spite of the increase in the number of confirmed cases announced on January 26, which stood at 258 with 41 deaths from 19 states, the overall Case Fatality Rate (CFR) for 2020 is lower at 12.9 per cent compared with the same period in 2019 which was 17.7 per cent.Our goal is to have a single digit CFR in Nigeria and we are on the right track,” Ihekweazu said.
Meanwhile, in Katsina, two cases of lassa fever patients have been confirmed.
Executive Secretary, Katsina State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Shamsudden Yahaya, said one of patients, a pregnant woman from Kwarin Yashe village in Kusada Local Government Area, died on Tuesday..
He said the second victim, a woman, had been quarantined and undergoing treatment at the Kankia General Hospital.
Yahaya said the travel and movement history of the victims indicated they entered Katsina from separate locations in Bauchi State. He said the two incidents were part of seven cases of suspected Lassa fever currently under investigation in the state.
According to Ihekweazu, NCDC situation report of all confirmed cases, which is 76 per cent are from Edo, 35 per cent; Ondo,35 per cent and Ebonyi,six per cent.
He said NCDC would continue to support affected states through the deployment of inter-disciplinary rapid response teams and medical supplies, including Ribavirin tablet for treatment of Lassa fever patients.
Meanwhile, Sen. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, has advocated a special fund to prevent and contain disease outbreaks in the country.
Oloriegbe stated this, yesterday, in Abuja at a stakeholders meeting on the role of the legislature in funding epidemic preparedness in Nigeria organised by Nigeria Health Watch, a Non-governmental Advocacy Organisation.
He suggested that the special fund be sourced from public and private sectors.
“This fund should be referenced through legislation where both public and private sectors will contribute. When epidemics happen, they have devastating effects on the private sector as well. They should not contribute through donation but through legislation that identifies certain sources of funds. For example, we should tax some percentage of the profit of key sectors that are usually affected by epidemics and such funds be added to the public funds,” he said.
In a related development, the Chinese Consul General in Lagos, Chu Maoming, has solicited Nigeria’s support in the fight against Coronavirus, adding that Chinese medical staff were going all out to fight the battle against the epidemic.
In a statement in Lagos, yesterday, the consul general said when the virus struck, numerous doctors and nurses across the country rushed in groups to Wuhan , a megacity at the epicentre of the epidemic in central China.He said the international community has shown great care for the epidemic in China, which he said mirrors the sincere relationship among countries.
“At this difficult time, I am particularly grateful to the Nigerian government and people for their precious support to China. President Muhammadu Buhari extended his good wishes to President Xi Jinping and citizens of the People’s Republic of China, saying it was important to let them know that Nigeria and her citizens were also standing by them during this coronavirus outbreak. The president hailed China’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus and the country’s collaboration with international agencies and other countries on the matter as exemplary.