The Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria has commended the Federal Government for the successes recorded so far in containing the spread of Lassa fever in Nigeria.
The commendation is contained in a statement made available to The PUNCH by the National Vice Chairman of the Association, Dr. ChieduAmibor.
"While we acknowledge that Nigeria has recorded about 176 cases with 108 deaths giving a case fatality rate of 61.4 per cent (Federal Ministry of Health, 2016) it has become obvious that based on decline in new suspected cases, the outbreak is under control," the association observed in the statement signed by the National Chairman, Mr. Martins Oyewole, and the National Secretary, Mr Jelili Kilani.
The association, however, called on the Federal Government to adopt measures that would prevent the recurrence of the disease.
It said, 'We are hereby urging the government to put in place control strategy to stem the tide of frequent resurgences of the dreaded Lassa fever, which has been recurring since it was first discovered in 1969. One of the measures we are suggesting is to strengthen the Surveillance Unit in the Federal Ministry of Health so as to be able to detect future outbreaks early enough before it will pose any serious threat to the people.
'We are also challenging the government to, as a matter of urgency, to provide reasonable quantities of personal protective equipment such as surgical gloves, overalls, face masks and others for use of health care workers (including pharmacists) who are ever at risk of contracting such contagious diseases by the very nature of tasks we carry out. We are also seizing this opportunity to call on pharmaceutical manufacturers (and distributors) who produce personal protective equipment to donate same to the Federal Ministry of Health for onward distribution to the various government hospitals, as part of preventive measures.
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"Right now, there is no proven, effective vaccine that protects against Lassa fever. The antiviral drug, Ribavirin, if given in the early course of the illness seems to be effective (WHO 2016). There is no evidence to support the role of ribavirin as post-exposure prophylactic treatment for Lassa fever." It expressed the willingness of pharmacists to partner the Federal Government and their relevant agencies to eradicate Lassa fever in Nigeria, saying, 'We are ever ready to render quality pharmaceutical care not only to suspected carriers of the virus, but to every other patient that may be in need. Our members all over the country are involved in sensitization and health education campaigns to educate the people on ways to prevent the spread of Lassa fever in the federation, and measures to adopt in the event of any suspected cases of the disease."
The association, which is the umbrella body of all pharmacists in hospital and administrative practice in Nigeria, identified a number of factors for the recurrence and spread ofLassa fever in Nigeria.
It identified the unhygienic way of preserving as a major factor.
"One way of spreading the virus is the way We dry our food on the roadside, rodents may pass on them, spit on them, defecate on them, urinate on them and these pose a threat to humans when such food stuff are eventually consumed."
It also named poor communal hygiene as a factor and stressed that prevention of Lassa fever relied on promoting good community hygiene to discourage rodents from entering homes. He said preventive measures included storing grains and other foodstuffs in rodent-proof Containers and bags, disposing of garbage far from the home and maintaining clean households.
By: Bukola Adebayo
Punch News
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