- Successive governments have not paid enough attention
Lassa fever is named after Lassa village in Borno State where two missionaries died in 1969 after being infected with the predominantly West African deadly viral hemorrhagic illness.
In other words, the disease was first recorded in Nigeria more than 50 years ago. The virus has been discovered to be present in contaminated excreta of rodents, with symptoms ranging from fever, headaches and bleeding.
Being a predominantly West African viral infection, Nigeria has had its fair share of casualties in infections and deaths since 1969.
As the most populous nation in Africa, the casualties have been many, and for a country with poor statistical data, there might be numbers not captured by available records.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 infections of Lassa fever occur annually with approximately 5,000 deaths.
We are disappointed that such a preventable viral infection keeps claiming lives in a country that boasts of the largest economy in Africa and a country that ought to be the hub of tourism and investment in the continent.
If, as reports show, the disease is animal-borne, in other words, it is zoonotic, then the world expects that a country like Nigeria should not be failing its population who yearly scamper in fear of the infection and actual deaths from it.
The survival and annual recurrence of Lassa fever in Nigeria must worry our governments at all levels. Given the process of infection, it just means that the simplest acts of environmental hygiene are lacking in a country that would be celebrating the sixth decade of its independence later this year. This tragic health issue shows the deplorable state of healthcare in the country.
Fifty years is a long time for any country that prides itself a republic to give its people the basic healthcare that should include basic environmental challenges like control of rodents and a pervasive enlightenment about the preventive measures to contain the disease.
The annual ‘fire service-like’ attitude of states and the Federal Governments at the outbreak of the deadly virus is not good enough.
The international community might never understand how a supposed giant like Nigeria cannot control and clean the environment, despite all the modern methods available.
To think that five decades after the discovery of the virus people are still dying like the missionaries that died then is just not acceptable.
The report that 15 people had died and about 28 hospitalised in Ondo State is such a sad piece of news that Nigeria should do without this decade.
Ondo is not alone. In a country with very low rural infrastructural coverage, this number must be very conservative. There might equally be other deaths and infections from other states that have not made the headlines.
The fact that global institutions insist that certain sectors like education and health must be prioritised in national budgets should be a guide for Nigerian governments to take the sectors seriously. A healthy and well-educated population is an asset to any nation.
It is the seeming lack of serious commitment to funding these sectors, lack of requisite policies and dedicated monitoring that has pushed the country into the poverty capital of the world with a very unhealthy population that keeps being depleted by preventable diseases like malaria and Lassa fever, amongst others.
Governments must realise that effort at funding the critical sectors is not always about financial expenses.
Enlightenment of the populace through institutions like schools, entertainment and religious houses can be very cheap and impactful given that most of the spread of certain infections like Lassa fever can be prevented if the people are better informed. We urge governments to treat the health sector with the emergency and seriousness the sector deserves.
