The Nigerian government has announced a suspected hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Edo state turned out to be that of yellow fever.
In a statement, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) the outbreak was reported in four Local Government Areas in Edo state. Of all the suspected cases, nine tested positive for yellow fever.
“We await confirmatory results from the WHO Regional Reference Laboratory,” the center stated.
Prior to the center’s statement, unconfirmed messages gotten by healthnews.africa that were widely shared on social media and WhatsApp warned Nigerians to be conscious about a dangerous hemorrhagic fever outbreak.
“Just confirmed! Hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Edo state! Let’s keep washing our hands frequently and tell our children to do the same,” the widely shared message read.
But NCDC’s CEO, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the center is working with Edo State Epidemiology Team, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and World Health Organisation (WHO) to carry out a detailed investigation and response to the already confirmed cases.
“The NCDC has deployed a rapid response team to support the State with active case search, risk communications and management of cases. There are ongoing plans to begin a reactive vaccination campaign in the affected Local Government area in response to the cluster of cases,” Ihekweazu stated.
According to the center, yellow fever virus is spread through bites by an infected mosquito. It is a completely vaccine preventable disease and a single shot provides immunity for a lifetime. The yellow fever vaccine is freely available to all children under one year as part of the routine immunisation schedule in primary health care centres in Nigeria.
The symptoms of yellow fever include yellowness of the eyes, sudden fever, headache and body pain. If you have these symptoms or notice someone in your community displaying them, please contact your nearest health centre.
“In addition to the vaccine, the public are advised to keep their environments clean and free of stagnant water to discourage the breeding of mosquitoes and use insecticide treated mosquito nets, screens on windows and doors to prevent mosquito bites,” NCDC stated.
Since 2017
Since September 2017, NCDC said Nigeria has recorded suspected cases of yellow fever in all states in the country. As at the 11th of November, 140 cases have been laboratory confirmed in Nigeria. A multi-agency yellow fever Emergency Operations Centre has been established at NCDC to coordinate the response.
This latest development is coming on the heels of NPHCDA’s flag off of a large yellow fever vaccination campaign, targeting 26 million children and adults (aged 9 months to 44 years) in six states: Niger, Plateau, Borno, Sokoto, Kebbi and the FCT.
One dose of the yellow fever vaccine provides for life-long protection against the disease. We urge all Nigerians to get vaccinated and encourage their families, and neighbours to do the same.