Some survivors of Lassa fever in Bauchi have embarked on public sensitisation activities to create awareness of the disease.

The survivors recovered after their treatment of the disease at the Lassa Treatment Centre, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi.

One of the survivors, Abubakar Hassan, said he engaged in community health promotion to raise awareness of the disease and encourage early presentation at health facilities.

Mr Hassan, 22, said this during an engagement with a Médecins Sans Frontières medical team on Wednesday in Bauchi.

He said the LTC centre provided prompt care to patients and trained them in prevention, control, and safety to safeguard public health.

According to Mr Hassan, public sensitisation against the disease is a collective responsibility, and early presentation at health facilities saves lives.

“I was brought to the centre unconscious. I underwent three dialysis sessions before regaining consciousness during the fourth session. I was fed and well taken care of by the health workers. After discharge, I received new clothes and transport fare back home,” he said.

Mr Hassan commended health workers at the centre for their professionalism and pledged to assist people in his community to refer suspected cases of Lassa fever and other infectious diseases to the centre for prompt attention.

Another survivor, Nafi Sani, promised to mobilise her community members on the signs, symptoms, prevention and referral pathways of the disease.

She recalled that she received counselling on the signs, symptoms, prevention and referral pathways, as well as mental health support at the centre.

Shirley Samsom, infection prevention and control manager, MSF, said the centre was being run in collaboration with the ATBU-TH.

She said the centre was designed with an infection prevention and control unit, a kitchen, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, health promotion, mental health support and clinical services.

“The centre has separate wards for suspected and confirmed cases with designated entry and exit points. The suspected cases ward has a 24-bed capacity, while the confirmed cases ward has a 73-bed capacity with separate sections for male and female patients,” she said.

The centre coordinator, Ibrahim Maigari, said the ATBU-TH molecular laboratory was equipped to confirm suspected Lassa fever cases within 12 hours of sample collection.

Mr Maigari noted that intensified community outreach and awareness campaigns contributed to the increase in reported cases.

He said the centre recorded 40 cases as of the third week of January and attributed the increase to improved awareness that encouraged early presentations.

Mr Maigari said the hospital expanded the centre to 77 beds with support from MSF, which provided logistical support, including transporting suspected cases from communities to the centre and providing transport stipends to survivors after discharge.

MSF is supporting ATBU-TH in conducting research on Lassa fever to strengthen an evidence-based response to the disease.

(NAN)