Ahead of Dry Season Surge, NCDC Urges Proactive Measures Against Lassa Fever

As the dry season approaches, Nigeria’s public health authorities are sounding an urgent alarm over Lassa fever, calling on the nation to preempt a seasonal wave that historically claims dozens of lives between November and April.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, NCDC Director-General Dr. Jide Idris stressed that the country cannot afford to wait until hospitals are inundated. While the acute viral illness remains an ongoing threat, Idris pointed out that the current pre-peak window offers an invaluable opportunity to fix recurring weak links in containment and clinical management.

The impetus for the proactive campaign stems from clear post-outbreak data pointing to preventable bottlenecks. Many patients succumb to the virus because early symptoms mirror common tropical ailments, leading to days of unguided home remedies or repeated visits to local chemist shops before presenting at designated treatment centers.

The review also pointed to gaps in infection control that left medical personnel vulnerable to nosocomial exposure during peak admission cycles, compounded by domestic environments that invite multimammate rodents into direct contact with uncovered food.

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Under the newly deployed Accelerated Readiness Plan, the NCDC is mobilizing an inter-agency response that crosses traditional departmental lines. By coupling epidemiological tracking with agricultural and environmental interventions, authorities aim to concentrate resources where transmission risks run highest.

The plan places heavy emphasis on tightening laboratory networks to eliminate diagnostic delays, while training healthcare staff to isolate and report suspected infections before viral loads peak.

Health officials underscored that containment begins in individual households and neighborhoods. Families were cautioned against leaving staples like beans, garri, and grains accessible to rodents, with directives to avoid direct contact with rat fluids and maintain rigorous waste management around dwellings.

With late presentation remaining the single largest driver of Lassa fever fatalities, the agency urged individuals with unyielding fever to abandon self-medication and seek professional diagnostics immediately, reminding health workers on the frontlines that early clinical suspicion is the ultimate barrier against hospital outbreaks.

Ahead of Dry Season Surge, NCDC Urges Proactive Measures Against Lassa Fever

Nigeria’s top food and drug regulator has linked the widespread availability of pocket-sized alcohol directly to violent crime and a mounting public health crisis.

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Kano diphtheria outbreak: Over 50 children reportedly dead as lawmakers demand urgent action

The Kano State House of Assembly has called on Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to urgently intervene in a reported diphtheria outbreak in Rano Local Government Area, where lawmakers say more than 50 children have died.

The alarm was raised during Monday’s plenary after the member representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, presented a motion of urgent public importance before the House, presided over by Speaker Ismail Falgore.

Muhammad said the outbreak had particularly affected communities in Ridin and Sabuwar Kaura, where more than 50 children were reportedly killed by the disease.

He said emergency measures had already been initiated, including the purchase of medication and deployment of health workers to the affected communities. However, the lawmaker stressed that the response needed to be significantly strengthened to contain the outbreak and prevent additional deaths.

Muhammad appealed to Governor Yusuf and the Kano State Commissioner for Health to provide further emergency assistance to the affected communities, warning that the disease had spread extensively in the area.

He also expressed concern over the recurrence of the outbreak, noting that a similar incident had reportedly claimed several lives in the area last year.

The situation, according to another lawmaker, has also raised concerns beyond Rano. Supporting the motion, the member representing Kiru Constituency, Usman Abubakar Tasiu, said the outbreak had reportedly spread to communities in Kiru, including Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town and Yelwa.

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Tasiu disclosed that an APC youth leader in Kiru reportedly lost two children to the disease within one day. He called for the establishment of an emergency committee to coordinate the response across affected local government areas.

He proposed that the emergency response should cover Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji and Kiru, amid concerns that transmission could spread further without stronger intervention.

Another lawmaker, Saleh Ahmad, representing Dawakin Tofa Constituency, urged the state government to intensify vaccination and other preventive measures. He warned that diphtheria is contagious and can spread rapidly to neighbouring communities.

The Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Husseini, also urged the state government to invoke the provisions of the state’s Health Protection Law to contain the outbreak.

According to Husseini, the law empowers the government to provide emergency relief and free healthcare while allowing authorities to isolate affected persons and restrict movement where necessary in areas affected by infectious diseases.

The Assembly subsequently approved the motion and directed its Committee on Health to engage the Ministry of Health on the implementation of the law and the provision of emergency relief to affected communities.

The latest development is particularly concerning because Kano has historically carried a large share of Nigeria’s diphtheria burden. Previous health surveillance data showed that Kano recorded thousands of suspected and confirmed cases during Nigeria’s prolonged diphtheria outbreak, alongside hundreds of deaths.

Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection that can cause severe illness and death, particularly among people who are unvaccinated or inadequately vaccinated. The disease can spread through respiratory droplets and close contact, making rapid detection, treatment, contact tracing and vaccination important components of outbreak control.

The reported deaths in the current Rano outbreak are based on statements made by Kano lawmakers. The specific death toll should therefore be treated as reported by the Kano State House of Assembly pending further confirmation from relevant health authorities.

The lawmakers’ intervention puts additional pressure on the state government to verify the scale of the current outbreak, strengthen disease surveillance, provide medicines and other emergency supplies, intensify vaccination and ensure that affected residents have timely access to treatment.

The immediate priority is to prevent further deaths and stop the reported spread of the disease from Rano to neighbouring communities.

Kano diphtheria outbreak: Over 50 children reportedly dead as lawmakers demand urgent action