Outbreak of lassa fever kills 73 in Nigeria

Nigeria is grappling with an outbreak of Lassa fever, which has caused 73 deaths this year as the number of new confirmed cases surged in the past week, according to the country’s Center for Disease Control.

The acute viral hemorrhagic illness is endemic in several West African countries including Nigeria, according to the World Health Organization. The UN agency said earlier this month it was scaling up its response to the outbreak, which has spread to 17 of Nigeria’s 36 states.

The current outbreak “is more than what we have seen before, it is overwhelming,” Elsie Ilori, incident manager at the NCDC’s Lassa Fever Emergency Operations Centre, said by phone Thursday.

A total of 913 suspected cases have been registered since the start of the year, with Nigeria’s southern Ondo and Edo states most affected, according NCDC data. The fatality rate in confirmed and probable cases is 21 percent, it showed.

The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces, according to the WHO.

Bloomberg

Nigeria Super Eagles coach to stick with core squad for 2018 World Cup

Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has ruled out bringing in new players to bolster his squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The West Africans have been hit by a goalkeeping crisis; first choice Carl Ikeme was diagnosed with leukaemia, both Daniel Akpeyi and his replacement Ikechukwu Ezenwa have failed to impress while Francis Uzoho is inexperienced.

Rohr is not tempted to call up another goalkeeper, despite growing calls from a section of fans for him to recall the country's most capped player Vincent Enyeama from retirement.

"We have built a good environment for the team and I believe all the players gave everything to secure the ticket to Russia," Rohr told BBC Sport.

"It looks very impossible to get Carl Ikeme to play in Russia, but Ikechukwu Ezenwa showed in big matches so far that he can be in goal.

"The young boy Uzoho had a great game against Argentina so I've sent the goalkeeper trainer to continue to provide support for this boy in Spain.

"We are not limited as we also have other goalkeepers like Akpeyi, Ajiboye and Alampasu in the team, so I believe we are fine."

At the last tournament, Nigeria drafted in experienced Peter Odemwingie and Shola Ameobi, with the former scoring the only goal against debutants Bosnia-Herzegovina to give Nigeria their solitary victory in Brazil.

Many have cited a lack of experience in the current squad, but Rohr is confident he has the personnel to get the job done and will stick with his current group in Russia.

"You have to respect what the former players have done in the past but be careful that you don't try to bring them back because people think so," said Rohr.

"We have big experience in captain [John] Mikel Obi, Victor Moses and our left back Elderson who is now playing in Belgium.

"If we feel the need to strengthen this squad we know what to do because for nearly two years now we've had a good atmosphere so far. Another good news is that the young striker in Wolfsburg [Victor] Osimhen is also playing now.

"I will make the [provisional] squad based on this group and also give one of the CHAN boys a chance as well.

"We can't just keep bringing in player after player when you already have those who have proven that they can do the job," Rohr added.

The Super Eagles will be making a sixth appearance at the World Cup tournament in Russia wehere they will play Argentina, Iceland and Croatia in Group D.

The three-time African champions reached the round of 16 in 1994, 1998 and 2014 but exit the 2002 and 2010 tournaments in the group stages.

BBC

Nigerian schoolgirls still not accounted for after Boko Haram attack

Dozens of schoolgirls are still unaccounted for days after suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked their school in northeast Nigeria.

The Yobe state government issued a statement on Thursday that retracted an earlier one that some of the missing girls had been rescued by the military.

"We have now established that the information we relied on to make the statement was not credible. The Yobe state government apologises for that," said Abdullahi Bego, spokesman for Yobe Governor Ibrahim Gaidam.

Late on Wednesday, Bego had said some girls had been "rescued by gallant officers and men of the Nigerian army from the terorrists who abducted them".

Bego did not give a specific number of those saved.

Police said on Wednesday that 111 girls from the state-run boarding school in Dapchi, in Yobe state, were unaccounted for following an attack by the armed group on Monday night.

But exact figures have been difficult to confirm.

On Thursday, parents said 101 children were still missing, The Associated Press reported, while unidentified sources told Reuters 91 were gone.

The students were reported to have fled the attack with their teachers at the sound of gunfire.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and two million others forced to flee their homes in northeastern Nigeria since Boko Haram launched a campaign in 2009 aimed at forming a breakaway state.

Over the years, the armed group has kidnapped thousands of adults and children.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari recently said the era of Boko Haram violence "is gradually drawing to end".

However, the group continues to launch attacks in the country's northeast, and its leader remains at large.

Al Jazeera

Video - Pupils, teachers escape militant attack on school in Nigeria's Yobe State

Boko Haram insurgents have made unsuccessful attempt to kidnap school girls at a rural secondary school in Yobe state. The group that gained international notoriety for kidnapping hundreds of school girls from Chibok raided the school on Monday evening.

Video - Nigeria's electoral commission aims to register 80 million voters

Nigeria has started preparing for next year's elections. The country is due to go to the polls in February 2019. And the Independent National Electoral Commission has already started registering voters.