Hello everyone!
I’m sure you’ve all heard about the outbreak of Lassa fever in some states in Nigeria. Just in case you wondered what all of that means, here’s a quick class.
Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic fever. This essentially means that this sort of fever interferes with the body’s natural ability to form clots when bleeding occurs and can also damage the walls of small vessels encouraging leakage of blood with resultant internal bleeding. It is also infectious.
Transmission to humans is usually from contact with food or other household items that have been contaminated with faeces or urine of infected rat (Mastomys). Person to person transmission can also happen through direct contact with the bodily fluid (urine, blood, faces etc) of an infected person.
Symptoms include: fever and general weakness, followed by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, headache, cough, sore throat etc. This may progress to bleeding, facial swelling, seizures etc
Treatment of this disease using anti-viral drug, Ribavarin, appears effective especially if started early and so the focus is on early diagnosis and prompt treatment, if infected and on prevention for those not infected.
Prevention is focused on good hygiene which makes it difficult for rats to thrive. Tips to help with this include:
X Disposal of food far from the living environment and on a regular basis
X Storage of grains and other food stuff in containers that are ‘rodent-proof’
X Clearing of surrounding bushes around your house
X Ensuring doors and windows shut properly and have tight-fitting screens
X Other general hygiene tips like consistent hand washing, wearing personal protective equipment by staff in healthcare settings to guard against body fluid splashes etc suffice.
Remember that family members caring for people with this disease may be exposed to their bodily fluids and so absence of hygiene measures at home and indeed in hospital settings encourages this infection to spread.
Here are points to remember:
Avoid spreading food in places where rats have access to them eg grains, garri, yam chips for amala, plantain chips etc
The practice of eating tasting raw garri in the market and even drinking it (as quite a number of people like to do J) may not be a great idea now as you don’t know how this was processed.
If you believe your house may be infested by rats, please fumigate immediately. In the meantime, be sure to thoroughly clean and disinfect all surfaces especially in the kitchen. Indeed, starting the day by pouring a kettle of hot water all over the plates on your plates rack may be a great idea.
If you eat rats (and yes, some people do…especially the big ones which look almost human 
), please give it a rest.
And do not forget your personal hygiene. Wash your hands and often too. If you cannot wash your hands at any given time, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Be sure to wash your hands as soon as you can afterwards. Remember that sanitizers are not suitable for visibly dirty hands.
Please maintain your private space. Do not sneeze or cough into people’s faces.
If you’re caring for anyone with the infection, observe the rules of barrier nursing.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control can be contacted: Toll Free on: 6232; Whatsapp on: +234 708 711 0839; SMS on: +234 809 955 5577 to report any suspected case of Lassa Fever.
Stay safe, people!
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