Tuesday, 4 November 2014

BBC report says Lassa fever season is about to start in West Africa

A BBC report says;

The peak season for Lassa fever in West Africa is about to begin. The viral haemorrhagic fever has been largely forgotten in the Ebola crisis, and health workers are warning that they may not have the resources to deal with the disease if cases increase. At first sight the symptoms of Lassa are identical to Ebola. There can be bleeding, vomiting and fever. But whereas Ebola is a new outbreak, Lassa is a constant presence. Every year it infects from 300,000 to 500,000 people, killing up to 20,000. 
 
All of the countries worst hit by Ebola are home to Lassa fever. On Friday, Dr Geraldine O'Hara from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) told the BBC that one of her colleagues had died of Lassa despite all efforts to save her. Nigeria may also be seeing its first outbreak of the season. Only weeks after successfully containing Ebola, Nigerian media have reported an outbreak of Lassa in Oyo State.

The question is -  what is it with media projection of these outbreaks in Africa. If Lassa fever was killing upto 20,000 a year, why didnt it get as much coverage as the Ebola outbreak

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The media decide on what to give a boost. Lassa fever is just as bad as Ebola. Maybe the spread rate of Ebola is the major cause for concern