Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has disclosed that its preliminary findings indicated that yellow fever could be solely responsible for the sudden unexplained deaths in some communities in Enugu and Delta states.
NCDC confirmed that it was notified few days ago by the State Ministries of Health of Delta and Enugu States, respectively, of cases presenting with symptoms indicative of a viral haemorrhagic fever, notably fever, headache, fatigue, jaundice vomiting (with or without blood) among others.
It confirmed that three samples from Delta state and one sample from Enugu state tested positive for yellow fever at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital Laboratory, Edo State, and NCDC’s National Reference Laboratory, Gaduwa, Abuja.
NCDC in a statement on Saturday, said that yellow fever is a vaccine-preventable disease, and a single shot of it could provide immunity for a lifetime. It said the affected states are being supported to lead response campaign to the suspected outbreak of yellow fever.
NCDC added: “More samples are being tested from both states to confirm the causative organism of the outbreak. However, the State epidemiology teams are leading the response with support from NCDC, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“An incident management system has been activated to coordinate response activities, and Rapid Response Teams (RRT) have been deployed to both states.
“Additionally, NCDC and State RRTs are carrying out active case search, risk communications and community engagement as well as ensuring prompt management of cases.”
NCDC, however, announced that NPHCDA is working with the affected states to plan for a vaccination campaign suggesting to communities to avail themselves the opportunity, “because yellow fever is a vaccine-preventable disease, and a single shot of the vaccine could provide immunity for a lifetime.”