WHY LASSA FEVER PERSISTS IN NIGERIA –PROF. AGBONLAHOR

A Professor of Microbiology and former
Vice-Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University,
Ekpoma, Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor, has
expressed displeasure with the country’s
approach to fighting the deadly Lassa
fever, describing the method adopted as
“annual recurrent budget of death for the
poor people in Nigeria.”
Delivering the Distinguished Lecture of the
University of Benin (UNIBEN), with the
title, “Combating Lassa Fever: a National
Health Challenge”, Prof.Agbonlahor said it
was sad that for the past 47 years,
Nigeria had hitherto made noise in the
name of creating awareness during
outbreaks but goes to sleep at the end of
each episode and only wakes up when the
next outbreak occurs.
Quoting from a statement he credited to
Prof. Oyewole Tomori, he said: “We are
not aware of any report on cases of
Lassa fever and its endemicity in other
continents of the world. This perhaps ex­
plains why governments in the developed
countries show little or no interest or
financial commitment to Lassa fever
eradication. They look at the disease as a
regional problem, which is mainly endemic
in West Africa.
“Despite the thousands of deaths from
the fever, Nigeria is still unprepared to
contain the disease, waking up every year
an outbreak is reported, running like a
decapitated chicken in any direction and
forgetting about the disease till another
year of another outbreak.”
He therefore, advocated accurate
epidemiological data on the distribution,
rodent typing and rodents’ Lassa viral
carriage according to geopolitical zones
and states in Nigeria in order for the
disease to be effectively tackled.
Professor Agbonlahor lauded President
Muhammadu Buhari for inaugurating the
national committee on the control and
prevention of haemorrhagic fever and
other infectious disease outbreaks in Ni­
geria, which is chaired by Prof. Oyewole
Tomori.
“This is a step in the right direction as the
government now appears serious and
willing to listen and provide the necessary
logistic support aimed at controlling the
scourge of Lassa fever in Nigeria,” he
said.
In his opening remarks, the Vice
Chancellor of the UNIBEN, Prof. Faraday
Orumwense, said the institution has taken
the challenge to join the fight against
Lassa fever.
He disclosed that the authorities of the
institution had set up a committee to
sensitize the university community on
ways to prevent the disease and to
collaborate with the government and the
NGOs on ways to eradicate it.