Olakunle Olafioye
Rat poison vendors in Nigeria are catching in on the momentum of Lassa fever epidemic. As at the last count, no fewer than 40 people were reported dead from the virus, according the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). And the fear of contracting the virus is driving many Nigerians to patronizing sellers of pesticide in their bid to rid their abodes of rodents, the harbingers of this deadly virus.
“I have a serious phobia for rat poisons, especially those with offensive and dangerous smell because I believe if their odour could kill rodents at home then human beings too are not entirely safe. But since I discovered that rodents don’t get entrapped by mousetraps and rodent gum any longer, I have decided to give it a trial as a way of safeguarding my family against Lassa fever,” Mrs Kemi Adetula, a housewife stated.
A rat poison vendor who simply identified himself as David confirmed to Sunday Sun that the demand for rat poison has gone up since the outbreak of the virus.
The mounting fear about the disease in not misplaced. In the past few weeks, reports claim that the disease has spread from nine to 19 states in Nigeria, while a total of 258 cases were confirmed in the month of January. The victims include seven health workers.
Nigeria recorded the largest outbreak of Lassa fever epidemic in 2018 with 1,081 suspected cases as of February 25 and 90 deaths. Of these figures, 317 of the cases and 72 deaths were confirmed as Lassa. According to NCDC DG, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Lassa fever is endemic in Nigeria and cases are recorded all year round.
“There is usually an increase in cases of Lassa fever between November and May during the dry season. The Lassa fever virus is transmitted by rodents, which can be found in our environment. This contributes largely to the risk of spread that occurs in Nigeria and other countries with similar ecological factors,” he said.
The World Health Organisation describes the disease as a viral haemorrhagic fever with symptoms, including weakness, headaches, vomiting and muscle pains. Although the world body put the fatality rate of about one per cent, experts say it may be higher in Nigeria owing to the large number of unreported cases.
A medical expert, Dr Abiodun Folarin, said getting accurate statistics in a country like Nigeria where the people are very secretive and cagey, especially with the issue of health could be a herculean task. “Again when we look at it from the figure released by NCDC so far, one can conveniently argue that the fatality rate is more than one per cent as projected by WHO,” he stated.
More worrisome dimension to the outbreak of Lassa fever is that there is currently no vaccine against the virus.
“Currently, there is no known vaccine to protect against Lassa fever. Therefore, we only rely on strengthening measures such as ensuring proper sanitation, good personal hygiene and standard care precautions by health workers to prevent the spread of Lassa fever. These measures also depend on personal responsibility as we all have a role to play in preventing the spread of Lassa fever,” he said.
Although most Nigerians who spoke to Sunday Sun claimed to have doubled their efforts at combating pest in order to safeguard their homes against Lassa fever, experts say pest management could prove trickier than one could imagine. “Depending solely on traditional housekeeping routine is no longer reliable at a period like this because rats have a way of surviving such onslaught especially when one lives in densely populated areas, where those living around you may not see any compelling reason to commit their time and energy to such exercise. This is why it is advisable to seek the help of professionals,” Abiola Shodeke, a pest management expert, said.
Shodeke identified food items, shops, stores and eateries as possible breeding ground for Lassa fever, and urged Nigerians to be cautious and watchful about where they buy their food items.
According to him, “the government should beam their focus on dealers of food items and eateries. These are the places you get to see all sizes and categories of rats having field day. Unfortunately, owners of these places pay less attention to them. So, a customer, who maintains high level of cleanliness and personal hygiene at home could fall victim of this deadly virus owing to the carelessness of the people who manage these outlets,” he said.
He called on the government to come with an initiative which will compel owners of such outlets to put in place measures that will help to sanitize their environment in the same manner organizations are compelled to put certain safety measures in place.
“The government has set minimum safety measures for organizations and institutions that is why you see schools, offices, petrol stations with fire extinguishers, fire alarm system and conspicuous information about where to gather and what to do in case of any disaster. It will not be out of place if the government compels food store and eatery operators to also put similar measures that will help to rid their environment of dangerous pest such as rats”, he said.
Lassa fever was discovered in Niger State, Nigeria in 1969 and was named after the town where the first case was discovered. It is caused by a single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the virus family Arenaviridae. Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease, meaning that human beings become infected from contact with infected animals. The animal reservoir or host of Lassa virus is a rodent of the genus Mastomys, commonly known as the “multi-mammate rat.” Mastomys rats infected with Lassa virus do not become ill, but they can shed the virus in their urine and faeces.
Lassa fever is largely transmitted through contact with items or surfaces contaminated with urine, faeces, saliva or blood of infected rats. It can also be transmitted from person-to-person through contact with blood, urine, faeces and other body fluids of an infected person.
Lassa fever presents initially like any other febrile illness such as malaria. Early symptoms are fever, headache, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, sore throat etc. It is in very severe cases that the patient bleeds from body openings.
Since the recent outbreak of the disease, Edo, Ondo and Ebonyi have been identified as the most affected states in the country with 89 per cent of confirmed cases.
Two positive cases of Lassa fever were also reported from Borno State (Northeast Nigeria), both of which resulted in death. Another five suspected cases tested negative, while the sixth one is pending laboratory confirmation.
A treatment centre has been set up in Maiduguri and infection prevention and control (IPC) training for health care workers is being stepped up.
Sunday Sun gathered that the National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been activated to coordinate response activities across affected states.
Lassa fever is also endemic in many African countries – including Niger, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Togo and northern part of Cameroon.