Emergency Action In Nigeria Over Deadly Lassa Fever

Nigeria has set up emergency response centre to deal with outbreaks of the deadly Lassa fever in parts of the country. This follows a rising number of cases in in the last three weeks, with about 115 infections and also 26 deaths having been  confirmed. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said activating the centre was

necessary to contain the spread of the disease. Lassa fever is an acute and also often viral hemorrhagic fever, transmitted to human beings via contact with food or the household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces. Symptoms too include fever, general weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea, headaches and coughs. The

disease was first discovered in the 1969 in the town of Lassa in Nigeria’s north-eastern state, Borno. Outbreaks are common in the country. It has become endemic in West Africa, causing up to 5,000 deaths each year.