Nigeria to probe Lassa fever outbreak

The Nigerian government has set up a Lassa Fever Rapid Response Committee to investigate, prevent and control further outbreaks of the disease which has already killed 40 people in 12 states across the country. Chaired by Sunday Aremu Omilabu, a senior staff of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), the 23-man committee having representatives of government agencies and development partners was inaugurated here on Thursday, by the minister of state for health Muhammad Ali Pate. Speaking at the inauguration, the minister said the committee would coordinate responses from government and development partners in controlling the spread of the disease. He said the government was concerned about the danger of Lassa fever in Nigeria and that's the reason it has resolved to always support the treatment of all reported cases with prompt preposition of drugs and personal protective equipment. Noting that 87 have been confirmed out of the 397 reported cases in some states, the minister added that this year, 500,000 vials of the ribavirin drugs were procured and distributed to the affected states. "The newly set up committee would provide technical expertise toward containing the outbreak, come up with standard treatment protocol and guidelines for management of Lassa fever, develop standard operating procedures on infection control in hospitals and mobilize resources for prevention and control of the disease," he said.