Resources

Lassa Fever: a rodent-human interaction

This resource examines the sites of interactions between humans and the multimammate mouse, Mastomys natalensis. It presents findings such as new arenaviruses in other African rodents and in snakes, that  argue preferably toward the host-switching concept. The recent emergence in Sierra Leone, the absence of virus positive Mastomys between the two endemic zones and poor virus diversity in the Mano River area also point in the direction of a unique import of Lassa virus from Nigeria to Sierra Leone during the 19th century. This resource also discusses the hypothesis of human displacements through the Atlantic slave trade and its abolition in 1807.

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Housing factors and transmission of Lassa fever in a rural area of South-South Nigeria

The study compared the housing quality and hygiene in two peri-urban settlements in Irrua Town. The use of buildings for housing and commercial activities was found to be a risk for the transmission of Lassa fever in the houses.

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Monkeypox: Did the Nigerian media do more harm than good?

The objective of this study was to describe the kind of information published by the media during the Monkeypox outbreak in Nigeria. Although most of the information reported were from verifiable sources, there was a high level of sensationalism around the Monkeypox outbreak which heightened public anxiety. Health reporters and the media in Nigeria should be trained on how to accurately report disease outbreak reports and health facts.

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Knowledge, attitude and practice to Lassa fever virus among shop owners in four community markets in a military barrack in Kaduna state, Nigeria

This resource describes the results of a Knowledge, attitude and practice survey conducted amongst shop owners of four community markets in a military barrack in Kaduna state, Nigeria. The findings in this study show that the respondents have a good knowledge, and positive attitudes and practices towards Lassa fever virus. Nonetheless, awareness programs should continue, proper medical care should be provided for the sick, and protective gears should be available to health care workers.

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Awareness of Lassa fever in a rural community in South West Nigeria

The study showed that there was poor awareness of Lassa fever among members of the community. Thus efforts should be made to increase the awareness of the populace through health campaigns, and to reduce the spread of both the vector and the virus.

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Public awareness of Lassa fever in three rural communities of Nigeria

This resource aims to assess public awareness of Lassa fever among residents of three rural communities in Edo State, Nigeria through the use of a structured questionnaire. The television was the most popular source of Lassa fever awareness in all communities studied. Among participants who reported to have heard of Lassa fever, vehicles of transmission of disease mentioned included mosquito bites 9 (32.1%), dog bites 7 (25%) and eating of rat-contaminated food 2 (7.1%). Sleeping under mosquito bed nets and intake of herbal concoction were the principal mode of prevention of Lassa fever reported by respondents.

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Impact of Lassa fever on the practice and consumption of stored food by University of Benin community, in Benin City, Nigeria

The aim of the study is to determine the impact of Lassa fever on the consumption of processed snacks and food storage practices in University of Benin campuses. They found that the that majority discard their snacks when contaminated while some remove the contaminated portions and consume remaining part which could be a major health risk.

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