Nigeria: 51 Million Citizens at Risk of Lassa Fever Forum

21 March 2009
Abuja — National Lassa Fever Stakeholders' Forum declared in Abuja on Friday that Nigeria was rife with the killer disease, with estimate of the at-risk population of 51 million, annual number of illness of about three million and annual death of about 58,330.

It called on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, make budgetary provision for national prevalence and morbidity/mortality for Nigerians to know areas that are prone to the dreaded disease.

The forum also advised that urgent steps should be taken by government to establish zonal Lassa fever control centres and a central coordinating agency to help tackle advocacy crusade, preventive and curative assignments.

Speaking during an interactive session with House of Representatives Committee on Health, the National Chairman of the forum, Professor George Akpede, said the battle against the disease was largely hampered by lack of political will, lack of information and adequate funding.

He regretted that since the outbreak of the epidemic in the country, the awareness on the part of Nigerians was very low, leading to high cases of death, as a large size of the population was still unaware of the cause and consequences of the disease.

Akpede, who was at the meeting with all the leadership of the forum, stated that Lassa fever was a silent killer, explaining many deaths have occurred as a result of Lassa fever in many communities, but other causes ranging from spirituality to culture have been attributed.

He commended the leadership of the National Assembly for stepping into the Lassa fever epidemic in the country, adding that the new political will would help in finding solution to the further spread of the disease.

He also called for attitudinal change among Nigerians, saying that negative behaviour, bad hygienic environment, beliefs and other poverty related factors worsen the disease situation.

The chairman of the forum also called on the public to support any legislation by the National Assembly to enhance the control of the disease, adding that if a law was in place it would surely advance the crusade against the disease.

Meanwhile, he advocated the discouragement of the killing and eating of rats by Nigerians, explaining that contact with rat, being the reservoir of the disease, was a maximum risk.