Lassa fever: ‘Intensify contact tracing’, NCDC urges states as death toll hits 70
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has urged state governments to strengthen contact tracing efforts as Lassa fever continues to spread across the country, claiming at least 70 lives so far. The Director-General of the agency, Jide Idris, made the appeal on Friday during a press briefing in Abuja, expressing concern over gaps in […]
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC)
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has urged state governments to strengthen contact tracing efforts as Lassa fever continues to spread across the country, claiming at least 70 lives so far.
The Director-General of the agency, Jide Idris, made the appeal on Friday during a press briefing in Abuja, expressing concern over gaps in state-level response and rising infections among healthcare workers.
According to him, effective contact tracing remains one of the most critical tools in curbing the outbreak, yet several states have not taken full ownership of the process.
“State ownership is still a major challenge for us. One key issue is the role that states must play in contact tracing. What we are seeing is that cases are not being properly traced by states, and contacts are not reported. That is what is driving the high case fatality rate,”Idris said.
He further noted that inadequate funding at the state level has hampered awareness campaigns and community engagement.
“In many cases, there is no funding at the state level for awareness activities. This has made it difficult for risk communication and community engagement activities to continue, and these are very important in changing behaviour in highly affected communities,” Idris said.
