The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has announced a total of 1,179 suspected cases of yellow fever from 416 local government areas in 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
The cases were reported between January 1, 2022 and July 31, 2022.
According to the situation report obtained by newsmen, a total of 14 deaths have been recorded from suspected cases in 10 of the states.
Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. The ‘yellow’ in the name refers to the jaundice that affects some patients.
Symptoms of yellow fever include fever, headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. A small proportion of patients, who contract the virus, develop severe symptoms and approximately half of them die within seven and 10 days.
The NCDC said 74 per cent of cases were people predominantly aged 30 years and below.
The report read in part, “Cumulatively from January 1, 2022 to July 31, 2022, a total of 1,179 suspected cases have been reported from 416 LGAs in 36 states, including the FCT.
“The cases were reported from the following states: Abia (36), Adamawa (18), Akwa Ibom (9), Anambra (84), Bauchi (38), Bayelsa (13), Benue (24), Borno (100), Cross River (26), Delta (8), Ebonyi (27), Edo (14), Ekiti (29), Enugu (67), FCT (5), Gombe (14), Imo (43), Jigawa (81), Kaduna (8), Kano (4), Katsina (81), Kebbi (21), Kogi (15), Kwara (21), Lagos (4), Nasarawa (24), Niger (25), Ogun (25), Ondo (62), Osun (19), Oyo (73), Plateau (45), Rivers (23), Sokoto (16), Taraba (33), Yobe (31) and Zamfara (13).
“A total of eight presumptive positive and six inconclusive results were recorded from the Nigeria laboratory network.
“These presumptive positives were from the UBTH, Benin (two); MDH, Abuja (one); CPHL, Lagos (three); and YDMH (two). The cases were reported from Edo – one (Egor); Niger – one (Suleja); Rivers – one (Port Harcourt); Sokoto – 2 (Dangeshuni and Tambuwal); Osun – one (Atakunmosa East); Ondo – one (Akure South); and Ekiti – one (Irepodun/Ifelodun). The inconclusive cases were reported from Oyo – one (Olorunsogo); Anambra – two (Idemili South and Ayamelum); Imo – one (Nwangele); and Osun – one (Irewole). These samples have been shipped to IP Dakar for confirmation.
“Five confirmed cases were reported from IP Dakar from January to July 2022 from Sokoto – one (Dangeshuni); Osun – one (Atakunmosa East); Ondo – one (Akure South); Anambra – one (Idemili South); and Imo – one (Nwangele).”
“Fourteen deaths recorded from suspected cases in Abia (one), Bayelsa (one), Benue (one), Imo (one), Kaduna (one), Katsina (two), Kebbi (one), Taraba (two), Yobe (one) and Zamfara (three) [CFR = 1.2%].
“Male to female ratio for suspected cases was 1:1.7 with males 637 (54 per cent) and females 542 (46 per cent).
“Seventy-four (74 per cent) of cases were predominantly aged 30 years and below.
“One hundred and twenty-six (10.7 per cent) of 1,179 suspected cases had at least one dose of the yellow fever vaccine.
“The NCDC is coordinating response activities through the National Multi-agency Yellow Fever Technical Working Group.”
A medical laboratory scientist at the Department of Microbiology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, Obinna Chukwudi, said people who were not vaccinated against the disease were at risk of being infected with the virus.
He stated, “Truth is like I have said before this is the rainy season, although it is almost going, however, this is the period that mosquitoes breed the most, especially around stagnant waters, gutters, open dams and wells, and the yellow fever epidemic occurs when infected persons with the virus reintroduce it in a highly populated community or environment that has a high level of mosquito breed. So, you can now have a mental picture of where we are going and the probable cause of the rise in the disease during this period.
“Also, people who are not vaccinated against the disease are at risk of being infected with the virus as at the moment; no known drug is available for its treatment. Hence, it is very important for people to get vaccinated. Lastly, at this point, there is a clarion call for a public awareness campaign for people to begin to protect themselves against mosquito bites, clear their gutters and involve themselves in activities that will keep them safe from mosquito attacks.”
Discussion about this post