NEWS ANALYSIS: Combating yellow fever outbreak in FCT

NEWS ANALYSIS: Combating yellow fever outbreak in FCT

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in November 2018 confirmed the outbreak of yellow fever in 13 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

At that time, confirmed cases of yellow fever were recorded Kwara, Kogi, Kano, Zamfara, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Niger, Katsina, Edo, Ekiti, Rivers, Anambra and Benue states.

Health workers were then advised to be cautious and alert in their dealings with individuals, especially those coming from the affected states and exhibiting symptoms of the disease.

Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic fever caused by a flavivirus and transmitted by Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes.

Some of the symptoms of yellow fever include fever, muscle pain, back ache, headache, loss of appetite and nausea. In most cases, the symptoms disappear after three to four days of a person’s infection.

Dr Ndaeyo Iwot, the Acting Executive Secretary of FCT Primary Health Care Board, said that in 2018, confirmed cases of yellow fever were recorded in some parts of the territory.

“We received confirmed cases of yellow fever in Abaji Area Council and Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC)

“We mounted an elaborate yellow fever campaign and vaccination, which was very successful. The FCT scored 106 points in the yellow fever campaign,’’ he said.

Iwot said that the World Bank-funded “Saving One Million Lives’’ (SOMIL) intervention fund was quite helpful, as it had provided funding for the fight against yellow fever as well as child and maternal health challenges.

“The 2018 FCT budget has not been up to three months in performance but we have enjoyed quasi-government intervention like the SOMIL, which provided us with the required funds to embark on the anti-yellow fever campaign, and it was very successful,’’ he said.

Miss Rose Titus, a medical laboratory scientist at Garki Primary Health Centre, Apo, said that the 2018 yellow vaccination programme was very successful.

She added that the exercise was aimed at making the society to overcome the menace of yellow fever.

“We started the vaccination on Dec. 1 and the residents responded positively. In short, it was a good campaign,’’ she said.

Titus recalled that the yellow fever vaccination was particularly directed at persons under the age of 44 years, saying that those above that age bracket had natural immunity against the disease.

“The vaccine was meant for people of age 44 and below; as regards those who were not eligible to get vaccinated, we stopped them from participating in the vaccination.

“The exercise was organised because of the outbreak of yellow fever in several states across the country, it was particularly aimed at preventing the disease from spreading,’’ she said.

Having identified the FCT as one of the high-risk states, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) embarked on a mass yellow fever vaccination campaign in the territory between Nov. 24 and Dec. 7.

Malam Adamu Bappah, the Secretary of the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS), who addressed a news conference shortly before the onset of the vaccination, said that the early stage of yellow fever infection was similar to that of malaria fever.

Bappah said that the targeted group for yellow fever vaccination comprised persons with ages ranging from nine months to 44 years, while the target population of those to be vaccinated in the FCT was three million people.

He said that the figure represented 85 per cent of the total population of the FCT, adding that 1,342 teams, including 171 special teams, would be involved in the exercise.

“The goal of the mass vaccination is to reduce yellow fever transmission by achieving 95 per cent coverage, while implementing the local and state governments’ strategy for eliminating the disease by 2026.

“The FCT Administration (FCTA) will, through the vaccination, strengthen the health system and immunisation programme in the FCT; it will also strengthen the pharmacovigilance system for monitoring adverse effects, following immunisation activities,’’ he said.

Bappah advised the residents to come forward and be vaccinated at various government health centres and vaccination posts.

At the end of the exercise on Dec. 7, the FCTA expressed satisfaction with the successes that were recorded in the mass yellow fever vaccination campaign.

Bappah conveyed the viewpoint of the Administration on the success of the campaign when he toured some vaccination points in the Nyanya, Karu, Jikwoyi and Karshi neighbourhoods of the FCT during the exercise.

He said that the yellow fever vaccination, which was well-conducted, also recorded a large turnout of people.

He underscored the need to eradicate yellow fever in the country, saying that three confirmed cases of yellow fever were reported in the FCT.

“The vaccination covered two streams; the first stream was from Nov. 24 to Nov. 29, covering 35 wards in the territory.

“The second stream was from Nov. 30 to Dec. 7, covering 27 wards,” he said.

Bappah said that school premises, places of worship and hospitals were some of the centres that were used for the mass yellow fever vaccination.

Observers commend the FCTA for its efforts to prevent yellow fever infections and control the spread of the disease in the FCT last year.

They, nonetheless, urge the Administration to initiate pragmatic plans to guard against the resurgence of yellow fever outbreak in the territory.

By Jessica Dogo, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Photo Credit: Google