Almost half a century after the discovery of Lassa fever in Nigeria and earlier this year , a large amount of lives were affected in the country. Some cases have originated from Nigeria again causing the need for an increase in surveillance and more research.
The most recent cases within the past few months have shown that 80 Nigerians have lost their lives due to Lassa fever outbreak urging the Nigerian Federal government to be very vigilant.
According to the World Health Organisation, between 300,000 and 500,000 cases are recorded annually with about 5,000 deaths recorded yearly in sub-Sahara West African region. Nigeria has one of the highest burdens of Lassa fever and they have now set up checkpoints in clinics and hospitals and have started investigating on possible solutions to Lassa fever.
There are two major centres in Nigeria of which the government are now trying to scale up research quality. Overall they have started paying closer attention to patients and are establishing a routine check up for Lassa fever.