The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says is it working with Enugu and Delta state governments in responding to the suspected outbreak of yellow fever.
According to the commission, this follows a spike in cases and deaths in some communities in the two states.
The commission said it was notified by the two states of cases presenting with symptoms indicative of a viral haemorrhagic fever adding that most cases presented with fever, headache , fatigue, jaundice, vomiting with or without blood among others.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General of the commission in a statement said that as at the 6th November, 2020, three samples from Delta and one sample from Enugu tested positive for yellow fever at Irrua Specialist Teaching hospital laboratory and NCDC’s national reference laboratory, Gaduwa noting that more samples are being tested from both states to confirm the causative organism of the outbreak.
“The State Epidemiology Teams are leading the response with support from NCDC, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). An incident management system has been activated by NCDC to coordinate response activities and Rapid Response Teams (RRT) have been deployed to both states.
“The NCDC and State RRTs are carrying out active case search, risk communications and community engagement as well as ensuring prompt management of cases. Our sister agency, NPHCDA is working with the affected states to plan for a vaccination campaign. Yellow fever is a vaccine-preventable disease, and a single shot provides immunity for a lifetime. Symptoms of the disease include yellowness of the eyes, sudden fever, headache and body pain.
“The yellow fever vaccine is available for free in primary health care centres in Nigeria as part of the national childhood routine immunisation schedule. The yellow fever virus is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito.
“The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) advises the public to take precautionary measures to reduce the risk of yellow fever infection which include keeping the environment clean and free of stagnant water to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes, use insecticide treated mosquito nets and installing screens on windows and doors to prevent mosquito bites,’’ it stated.
It advises people to avoid self-medication saying they should visit a health facility immediately if felt ill and have symptoms such as fever while healthcare workers are reminded to “maintain a high index of suspicion for yellow fever amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
It also adds that parents should ensure that their children are vaccinated against yellow fever as part of the national childhood routine immunisation schedule explaining that when one is not sure of his or her immunization status, the person should visit a health facility to receive a yellow fever vaccine.
“Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease caused by the yellow fever virus (arbovirus)which continues to cause severe morbidity and mortality in Nigeria.”
Noting that a case of yellow fever was reported on the 12th of September 2017 in the country 21 years after the last confirmed case, it noted that since then, “we have continued to confirm cases and clusters in Nigeria, while NPHCDA continues to deliver proactive and reactive vaccination campaigns in response. Nigeria is implementing WHO’s “EYE –Strategy”, to eliminate yellow-fever epidemics.”
“The NCDC will continue working with the affected states, other government agencies and our partners to reduce the risk of spread of the disease and ensure cases are well-managed to reduce the number of deaths,” it stated.
