Nigeria's Lassa fever outbreak slowing, concern remains: WHO

GENEVA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Lassa fever in Nigeria, after nearly 400 confirmed infections and 100 deaths, is beginning to slow, but far from contained, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday.

Statistics from WHO and Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) have shown that the number of new confirmed and probable cases has been falling for five consecutive weeks, but more infections are expected until the end of the dry season, as the viral hemorrhagic fever is endemic to the area.

So far in 2018, the NCDC has reported 394 laboratory confirmed cases, with 18 new confirmed cases in the last reporting week, compared to 54 confirmed cases a month earlier.

"We should interpret the recent declining trend in new cases with caution. The Lassa fever season is not yet over. We need to maintain vigilance and response operations, and ensure continued engagement with communities to help curb the further spread of Lassa fever," said Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu, WHO representative to Nigeria.

The current epidemic is Nigeria's largest on record, with the number of confirmed cases in January and February alone exceeding the total number reported in the whole of 2017.

"By conducting research as the Lassa fever outbreak unfolds, Nigeria is a pioneering a new approach. Until now research in Africa has taken place much later in the response cycle. This is a new approach which opens the way to much more effective control of emerging and dangerous pathogens," said Dr. Alemu.

The WHO has released 900,000 U.S. dollars to quickly scale up operations, and is also supporting preparedness and response capacities in neighboring countries.

Earlier in March, the WHO warned 16 African countries of a listeriosis outbreak that started in South Africa in 2017.

According to WHO numbers, nearly 200 South Africans have died since January 2017 as a result of contaminated ready-to-eat meat products that are widely consumed in the country and may also have been exported to two West African countries and 14 members of the South African Development Community.

Listeriosis is a bacterial infection most commonly caused by Listeria monocytogenes. It can cause severe illness, including severe sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis, sometimes resulting in lifelong harm and even death. Listeria is ubiquitous and is primarily transmitted via the oral route after ingestion of contaminated food products. Enditem