The Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, located in Edo State, shared some sad news. Between 2023 and March 2024, 21 people in the state lost their lives to Lassa fever.
DAILY POST shared a report by Dr. Joseph Okoeguale, who leads research on serious viruses at the hospital. He mentioned that during this time, 240 people tested positive for Lassa fever.
He explained that every year, about 37.7 million people across 14 West African countries, including Nigeria, are at risk of catching Lassa fever, and sadly, more than 5,000 of these people die from it.
Dr. Okoeguale shared these details during a special talk with the Edo State University, Uzairue. His talk was about how universities and communities can work together to learn more about Lassa fever and make better tests and vaccines.
The World Health Organization (WHO) thinks studying Lassa fever is very important. Dr. Okoeguale shared that only 20% of people who get the virus actually feel sick. The other 80% carry the virus without knowing, because they don’t get any symptoms.
Dr. Okoeguale, who also specializes in women’s health, said the best way to stop Lassa fever is by preventing it and using vaccines once they are developed.
He said that Lassa fever doesn’t spare anyone— it affects people of all ages and sexes. It’s been hiding and attacking for too long, and WHO thinks it’s time to take action. They have suggested setting up special centers in areas where the fever is common. Some of these centers are in Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
There are now five of these special centers in Nigeria to help fight Lassa fever, including locations in Owo, Bauchi, and Abakaliki.
Sadly, outbreaks of Lassa fever happen every year in Nigeria. This is making things very hard for the hospitals and doctors as they try to help everyone affected, including kids, pregnant women, and adults who aren’t.
Dr. Okoeguale said that his hospital, the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, is working on tests to help create new medicines and vaccines for Lassa fever.
The hospital has a new partnership with the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trial Partnership, known as EDCTP. They are going to test new drugs that can battle Lassa fever.
Additionally, they are collaborating with groups like the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Nigerian Centers for Disease Control. Together, they’re running a program to train experts who will treat Lassa fever and other dangerous diseases.