Assessment of Lassa fever sample and case management preparedness in Nigeria 2017: challenges and way forward

Abstract

Introduction: Lassa fever remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in West Africa. In Nigeria, Lassa fever (LF) is endemic with an annual cycle of incident cases across the country. Despite seasonal epidemic preparedness and response efforts, there is still evidence of low clinical index of suspicion, poor sample management and delay in treatment resulting in nosocomial transmission, long turnaround time (TAT) for laboratory diagnosis and high case-fatality-rates (CFR).