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Lassa Fever: Nigeria Records 784 Cases, 142 Deaths In Three Months … Records 922 Cases Of Cholera, 32 Deaths
The Nigeria Centre for Disease and Control and Prevention (NCDC) says in less than three months, the country has registered 784 confirmed cases of Lassa fever with 142 deaths across 23 states.
Also, NCDC announced a total of 922 suspected cases of cholera, including 32 deaths, so far in 2023.
NCDC via its official website said on yesterday that the infections were recorded from Jan. 1 till date.
Recall that Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus.
The natural reservoir for the virus is the Mastomys natalensis rodent (commonly known as the multimammate rat or the African rat).
Other rodents can also be carriers of the virus which spreads through direct contact with urine, faeces, saliva or blood of infected rats.
The virus can also spread through contact with objects, household items and surfaces contaminated with urine, faeces, saliva or blood of infected rats.
NCDC said that in Epidemiological Week 11, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 70 in Week 10 of 2023, to 38 cases.
The agency said that the cases were reported from Edo, Ondo, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Taraba, Benue, Rivers, Plateau, and Nasarawa States.
NCDC said that cumulatively from Epidemiological Week 1 to Week 11, 2023, 142 deaths had been reported with Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.1 per cent which was lower than the 18.7 per cent CFR for the same period in 2022.
The agency said that, in total for 2023, 23 states had recorded at least one confirmed case across 97 local government areas.
The public health institution said that 71 per cent of all new confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from Ondo, Edo and Bauchi while 29 per cent came from six states.
It said that of the 71 per cent, Ondo reported 32 per cent, Edo, 29 and Bauchi, 10.
According to the NCDC, the predominant age group affected is 21-30 years with the median age as 32 years.
It said that the male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases was 1:0.9.
The agency said that the number of suspected cases increased compared to the number reported for the same period in 2022.
The NCDC said that a healthcare worker was affected in Week 11.
It said that the National Lassa fever multi-partner, multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre was activated to coordinate response activities at all levels.
Meanwhile, NCDC in its latest Cholera Situation weekly epidemiological report for week nine posted on its official website yesterday revealed that 12 states across 32 Local Government Areas have reported the suspected cases, with a case fatality ratio of 3.5 per cent.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria.
According to the World Health Organisation, at least 24 countries continue to report cholera cases.
The 12 states reporting cases in the country are Abia, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
The report read in part, “Of the suspected cases since the beginning of the year, the age group >45 years is the most affected age group for male and female. Of all suspected cases, 54 per cent are males and 46 per cent are females.
“Six states – Cross River (647 cases), Ebonyi (97 cases), Abia (72 cases), Niger (38 cases), and Zamfara (28 cases) account for 96% of all cumulative cases.
“Fifteen LGAs across nine states Ebonyi (4), Cross River (3), Ondo (2), Bayelsa (1), Abia (1), Katsina (1), Sokoto (1) Niger (1) and Zamfara (1), reported more than five cases each this year.”
The NCDC reported that there was difficulty in accessing some communities due to security concerns, open defecation in affected communities, lack of potable drinking water in some rural areas and urban slums, and poor hygiene practices in most cholera-affected communities.
Other challenges are inadequate health facility infrastructure and cholera commodities for the management of patients, inadequately trained personnel in states for case management, and poor and inconsistent reporting from states
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.