The Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said on Monday in Abuja that the decline followed the intensive response to the Lassa fever outbreak declared in Nigeria on Jan. 21.
According to him, since the beginning of the outbreak, the NCDC has activated an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to coordinate response activities.
He said that EOC included representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal Ministry of Environment, Médecins Sans Frontières.
Also the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team, U. S Centre for Disease Control and other partners were part of the EOC.
At the state level, he said that EOCs were activated in Edo, Ondo, Ebonyi and Plateau.
”In the last reporting week, which ended on Feb. 17, 25 new confirmed cases of Lassa fever were reported.
”So far, a total of 355 confirmed cases with 75 deaths have been recorded between Jan. 1 and Feb. 17, from 20 states across 57 Local Government Areas.
”Over the past three weeks, there has been a downward trend in new cases. The number of new cases being reported are lower, compared to the same period during the 2018 outbreak,” he said.
Ihekweazu said that in spite of the reduction in new cases, response activities are being intensified at the national and state level.
In addition, the NCDC had supported states to ensure adequate availability of drugs, personal protective equipment, reagents and other supplies required for case management and diagnosis of Lassa fever.
According to him, there has been no single stock-out reported in any state. An outbreak review meeting was convened by the NCDC on Feb. 15.
He said that the goal was to review response activities, discuss lessons learned and improve outcomes of the outbreak.