There is no cure for Lassa fever- DG, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control

Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu has said that there is no cure for Lassa fever.

He revealed this in an interview with Channels Television this morning, while discussing the pros and cons of the health situation in the country.

As a means of combating the health crisis, he noted that there have been giant strides resulting out of the engagement with lassa fever. Part of it includes increased awareness, expansion of laboratories from 1-5.

"We are suffering from the improvements in the system we have created. As we find more cases, there is more awareness. This is the time of the year. The ecological situation in Nigeria, the presence of the vector in our environment makes it impossible for us to eliminate this virus. We do not have a vaccine for lassa. So we have to continue doing those things we have been preaching every year," he said.

On the other hand, Ihekweazu noted that the number of deaths from lassa fever has reduced drastically.

"The number of deaths from lassa has gone down to 16, 17% from 25% a few years ago. We have had a significant reduction of workers affected over time," the NCDC boss said.

“The number of deaths we have seen from Lassa fever has gone down to 17%, we also have significant reduction of health care workers affected over time, so there has been some improvements in the fight against Lassa fever.” DG @NCDCgov , Dr. @Chikwe_I. pic.twitter.com/uUhZeOVa5m

— Government of Nigeria (@NigeriaGov) January 24, 2020

He issued a warning to medical practitioners.

"This is my message to all health care workers: If you ever treat patients without testing or you did not use universal precaution like gloves, now is the time to do what you need to do as citizens, doctors, nurses to reduce the spread of transmission.

"We have supported and continue to support different states in Nigeria to be well equipped to respond to this outbreak. We think we are in a good place, every year there is a lot of anxiety but we will keep training, educating, and equipping Nigerians with what they need to while we provide them with the technical expertise, the drugs and all the equipment we need to deal with this disease," he concluded.