Lassa Fever Death Toll Hits 41: Nigeria FG Budgets N140m To Tackle The Disease

The Federal Government says 41 Nigerians have died following the outbreak of Lassa fever in over 10 states.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said this at a press briefing he jointly organised with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Adewole stated that the number of suspected cases had risen to 93.

He said, “As of today (Tuesday), records from our surveillance show that the number of suspected cases is 93; the number of laboratory confirmed cases is 25 and the number of reported deaths is 41, with a case fatality of 44 per cent.

“We will like to state that given the high index of suspicion, the increasing number of suspected cases may not be out of place as health practitioners are more likely to include Lassa fever as a differential diagnosis in their health care facilities.

“However, the good news is that there have been no newly confirmed deaths in the last 48 hours. This is a reflection of our coordinated response and advocacy in all states.”

Adewole added that the Federal Government had earmarked a N140m fund to tackle the outbreak of the disease and also set up a four-man expert committee and an inter-ministerial committee to visit the most affected states of Niger, Kano and Bauchi to assess the current situation and prevent future occurrences.

He said, “With respect to the cost, we are currently handling it within our in-house resources, using drugs that we had in stock. But we are trying to replenish our stocks; we estimated that we will spend N56m to replenish the drugs. And in order to tackle the disease, we are looking at N140m.

Source: The Punch