Lassa fever has continued to wreak havoc in Nigeria with the latest outbreak of the disease claiming 21 lives from the 77 confirmed cases out of which 10 are health workers according to Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, National Coordinator, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
This disclosure was made at the at the opening ceremony of the National Executive Council meeting of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) in Abuja on Tuesday.
Ihekweazu said it was high time stakeholders came together and addressed the challenges of hemorrhagic fevers, including Lassa fever.
The national coordinator said NCDC has distributed more Ribavirin drugs used in the treatment of the disease to the affected states than it had ever done in the past.
He said that government alone might not be able to supply the needed drugs to all the affected persons in the country.
Ihekweazu said the center had produced guidelines for the prevention and control of hemorrhagic fevers, adding that the NARD members should work with their hospitals’ chief medical directors to address outbreaks.
