Nine persons have died from Lassa fever in the two months that Benue State has been experiencing this outbreak.
This was disclosed to reporters on Thursday by the state epidemiologist, Dr. Sam Ngishe, who also mentioned that several of the dead had been living in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs).
According to our report thus far, there are far too many rats living in the IDP camp. Therefore, if the rats that are spreading are found across the IDP camps, it means that we need to put in a lot of effort to prevent an outbreak that will be difficult to control, the epidemiologist said.
He confirmed that 46 people in the state had been impacted by the virus, in addition to IDPs and health professionals.
Ngishe stated that four conditions had been identified among the displaced people living in the Ortese IDP camp in the Guma Native Authorities Space. Additionally, he stated that the disease had spread to seven of the state’s twenty-three native authority areas, including Obi, Okpokwu, Gwer West, Makurdi, Guma, Gwer East, and Ukum.
He said, “9 deaths in confirmed circumstances, and they have been buried throughout the varied areas of the state the place they hail from in accordance with protected burial protocols.”
The epidemiologist admitted that in order to contain the outbreak, state officials had implemented safe burial practices for the deceased and were stepping up efforts to lower the death rate, which was now higher than the national average of 10 percent.
Ngishe recognized the need for increased monitoring, threat reporting, and community involvement to slow the spread of the disease.
He also mentioned the difficulties brought about by the conditions of the IDP camps, such as inadequate hygiene, crowding, and starvation, all of which fuel the spread of infectious diseases.
As the Ortese IDP camp is a cluster setting with very poor infection management due to inadequate sanitation, crowded surroundings, and so they have problems with malnutrition, he famously said, “There may be energetic surveillance happening locally.”
