The death toll in Nigeria from an outbreak of Lassa fever has risen to 70 as confirmed cases shot up, according to authorities.
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Nigerian agency responsible for the management of disease outbreaks, said in its week six update on Thursday that eight new deaths from Lassa fever were reported in three states.
"Four new healthcare workers were affected in Ondo, Delta and Kaduna states," the NCDC said in the update.
It said the number of suspected cases has "increased significantly" compared with the situation in mid-January, from more than 700 to 1,708.
Confirmed cases have also shot up to 472, it said.
Lassa fever is a disease spread to humans through food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces.
In 80 percent of cases, the fever is asymptomatic, but for some, the symptoms include high fever, headache, mouth ulcers, muscle aches, haemorrhaging under the skin and heart and kidney failure.
It has an incubation period of between six and 21 days and can be transmitted through contact with an infected person via bodily fluids and excretion.
Effective treatment
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the antiviral drug ribavirin appears to be an effective treatment for Lassa fever "if given early on in the course of the clinical illness".
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with about 200 million people, has five laboratories with the capability to diagnose the disease.
Lassa fever belongs to the same family as the Ebola and Marburg viruses but is much less deadly.
The disease is endemic to the West African country and its name comes from the town of Lassa in northern Nigeria where it was first identified in 1969.
It infects between 100,000 and 300,000 people in the region every year with about 5,000 deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Previously, cases of the disease have been reported in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo and Benin.
The number of cases usually climbs in January due to weather conditions during the dry season.
Al Jazeera
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
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Nigeria militants burn to death motorists as they sleep in their cars
Suspected militant Islamists have killed at least 30 people and abducted women and children in a raid in north-eastern Nigeria, officials say.
Most of the victims were travellers who were burnt to death while sleeping in their vehicles during an overnight stop, officials added
The attack took place in Auno town on a major highway in Borno State.
Militant Islamist group Boko Haram and its offshoots have waged a brutal insurgency in Nigeria since 2009.
About 35,000 people have been killed, more than two million have been left homeless and hundreds have been abducted in the conflict.
Nigeria's government has repeatedly said that the militants have been defeated, but attacks continue.
Borno State governor Babagana Zulum looked visibly shaken when he saw the charred bodies during a visit to Auno following Sunday night's attack, Nigeria's privately owned This Day news site reports.
The militants came in trucks mounted with heavy weapons, before killing, burning, and looting, state government spokesman Ahmad Abdurrahman Bundi was quoted by AFP news agency as saying.
The assailants "killed not less than 30 people who are mostly motorists and destroyed 18 vehicles," the governor's office said in a statement.
It also confirmed the abduction of women and children, but did not give a number.
Residents said most of the victims were travelling to the state capital, Maiduguri, but were forced to sleep in Auno, about 25km (16 miles) away, because the military had shut the road leading into the city.
The military has not yet commented.
Maiduguri was once the headquarters of Boko Haram, but government forces eventually drove the group out of the city.
It is unclear whether the assault was carried out by Boko Haram or a breakaway faction linked to the Islamic State (IS) group.
Calls for military shake-up
By Ishaq Khalid, BBC News, Abuja
The attack in Auno is a reminder of the threat posed by militants, and the vulnerability of communities.
When President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015, he pledged to defeat the insurgents.
Although his troops have made significant progress in weakening the militants, the recent spate of attacks on both military and civilian targets threatens the initial gains.
Many Nigerians have therefore been calling for an overhaul of the security forces and the replacement of military chiefs.
They hope that new generals at the helm of the security forces will reinvigorate the fight against the militants and make sure that the decade-long insurgency does not get any worse.
BBC
Most of the victims were travellers who were burnt to death while sleeping in their vehicles during an overnight stop, officials added
The attack took place in Auno town on a major highway in Borno State.
Militant Islamist group Boko Haram and its offshoots have waged a brutal insurgency in Nigeria since 2009.
About 35,000 people have been killed, more than two million have been left homeless and hundreds have been abducted in the conflict.
Nigeria's government has repeatedly said that the militants have been defeated, but attacks continue.
Borno State governor Babagana Zulum looked visibly shaken when he saw the charred bodies during a visit to Auno following Sunday night's attack, Nigeria's privately owned This Day news site reports.
The militants came in trucks mounted with heavy weapons, before killing, burning, and looting, state government spokesman Ahmad Abdurrahman Bundi was quoted by AFP news agency as saying.
The assailants "killed not less than 30 people who are mostly motorists and destroyed 18 vehicles," the governor's office said in a statement.
It also confirmed the abduction of women and children, but did not give a number.
Residents said most of the victims were travelling to the state capital, Maiduguri, but were forced to sleep in Auno, about 25km (16 miles) away, because the military had shut the road leading into the city.
The military has not yet commented.
Maiduguri was once the headquarters of Boko Haram, but government forces eventually drove the group out of the city.
It is unclear whether the assault was carried out by Boko Haram or a breakaway faction linked to the Islamic State (IS) group.
Calls for military shake-up
By Ishaq Khalid, BBC News, Abuja
The attack in Auno is a reminder of the threat posed by militants, and the vulnerability of communities.
When President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015, he pledged to defeat the insurgents.
Although his troops have made significant progress in weakening the militants, the recent spate of attacks on both military and civilian targets threatens the initial gains.
Many Nigerians have therefore been calling for an overhaul of the security forces and the replacement of military chiefs.
They hope that new generals at the helm of the security forces will reinvigorate the fight against the militants and make sure that the decade-long insurgency does not get any worse.
BBC
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