Pretoria - Nigerian authorities have announced increased emergency measures to contain the latest outbreak of Lassa fever in the West African country, following the death of 29 people this month.
In statement released over the weekend, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said that at least 29 people had died, while 195 cases of the disease were confirmed in the latest outbreak. The disease is endemic to Nigeria.
"As at 24th of January 2020, 195 confirmed cases and 29 deaths had been reported in 11 states. Of the confirmed cases, 89% are from Ondo, Edo and Ebonyi States," the NCDC said.
A national emergency operations centre had been activated to coordinate the response to the increasing number of cases countrywide.
According to the NCDC, there had been a decline in the case fatality rate from 23.4% in 2019 to 14.8% this year.
So far, only five Nigerian laboratories have the capacity to diagnose the illness.
Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic disease that belongs to the same family as the Ebola and Marburg viruses, but is not as deadly.
The virus is transmitted to humans from contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent feces or urine.
To minimise the risk of infection, the NCDC advised members of the public to ensure that their environment was kept clean, to avoid rodents.
Early symptoms include fever, headache, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and a sore throat.
"If a patient does not respond to treatment for malaria or other febrile illnesses after 48 hours, it is important to test immediately for Lassa fever," said the NCDC.