By Kemo Cham
The Liberian government last week declared an outbreak of the viral hemorrhagic fever disease - Lassa Fever.
The Ministry of Health of Liberia made the declaration after 21 people were reported to have died from the disease this year.
At least one health worker, a laboratory technician, is said to be amongst the dead, according to local media reports in Monrovia, the Liberian capital.
The Liberian daily, FrontPage Africa, quoted Dr. Francis Kateh, Chief Medical officer of Liberia, saying that several other health workers were undergoing treatment for the disease.
Dr. Kateh told journalists at an emergency press briefing on Friday that they were particularly concerned about the infection of trained healthcare workers.
“What is more concerning to us is the fact that when health workers, that have the authority and have been trained to identify and take care of others, are being infected then that escalates the process to another level,” said Dr. Keteh.
Officials also disclosed that there were 25 confirmed cases and 92 suspected cases recorded between January 1 and August 25, 2019.
According to a statement from the National Public Health Institute (NPHIL), the cases were reported as follows: Nimba County (9), Bong County (10), Grand Bassa County (5) and Grand Kru County (1).
Lassa Fever, a disease similar to Ebola, is a deadly viral infection which is spread by rats. People can also contract the disease through affected persons.
Lassa Fever is known to be endemic in parts of West Africa, including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80% of people who become infected with Lassa virus have no symptoms. It also says that one in five infections result in severe disease, where the virus affects several organs such as the liver, spleen and kidneys.
The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that between 100,000 and 300,000 infections of Lassa fever occur annually, with approximately 5,000 deaths.
“Surveillance for Lassa fever is not standardized; therefore, these estimates are crude. In some areas of Sierra Leone and Liberia, it is known that 10-16% of people admitted to hospitals annually have Lassa fever, demonstrating the serious impact the disease has on the region,” the CDC states on its website.
Both WHO and CDC experts say improved hygiene measures is among the best way to prevent the disease.
The Liberian health authorities said the case fatality rate in its current outbreak is 36%, with males mostly affected by the disease with 56% of the confirmed cases.
Tolbert Nyenswah, Director General of NPHIL, compared Lassa Fever to Ebola, stressing the need for frank information dissemination.
“Lassa is second Ebola, no need to hide the information. It’s better we put it out there – the situation we dealing with and how we can prevent it,” Nyenswah said at the press conference.
“So, it is important that we raise this and let the general public know that there are a couple of things that they can do in order to save lives.”
Liberia, alongside Sierra Leone and Guinea, were ravaged by an outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease between 2014 and 2016. That epidemic, the worst ever Ebola outbreak according to WHO, first began in Guinea and then spread to Liberia and then Sierra Leone.
Besides exposing the weakness of the healthcare systems of the sister countries, it also raised questions about the strength of collaboration in public health between the neighbours.
All three countries are located on the Lassa Fever Belt.
© 2019 Politico Online
