Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to train health workers on lassa fever control

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control(NCDC), says it will begin a nationwide training of health care workers on lassa fever case management, laboratory diagnosis, prevention and control.

The Chief Executive Officer (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, made the call on Saturday during a press briefing on Lassa fever in Abuja.

Ihekweazu said that after the training, officers would be held accountable for the response and management of subsequent lassa fever outbreaks in their respective states.

He noted that by the end of the training across the country, we hope to have build the capacity of front line clinical, laboratory and public health workers on case management, laboratory diagnosis, prevention and control of Lassa fever.

We are working to improve the knowledge and skills of Surveillance officers and healthcare workers for effective response, we will be in the southeast Nigeria by 22 of May and subsequently complete all zones in Nigeria," he said.

According to Ihekweazu, the Ebola group have been reactivated and meeting with all responsible organisations were on going.

The good thing about the out break in Congo is that we now have vaccine for Ebola so combating it will be easy and in case of an outbreak in Nigeria, we are fully prepared and we want Nigeria to remain calm, he said.

The Chief Medical Director, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), Prof. Sylvanus Okogbenin said that during the outbreak, nearly 85 per cent of confirmed case were from Edo, Ondo and Ebonyi state.

Certainly, we cannot claim to have found all solutions to all the challenges, we have developed unique strengths in the management of lassa fever.

According to him, it is in line with this that we have set up collaboration with NCDC, to implement a nationwide training of health workers on lassa fever clinical diagnosis and management.

Okogbenin added, that the collaboration between ISTH and NCDC is an exemplary one, relying on each other's strengths to build a stronger workforce for lassa fever management in Nigeria.