Outbreak of lassa fever in Taraba State, Nigeria, 2017

Introduction : lassa fever(LF) is an acute, highly infectious, viral haemorrhagic fevercaused by Lassa virus. It is endemic in parts of West Africa. It is a zoonotic disease, Person-to-person and laboratory transmissions are common, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevention and control measures. An outbreakof Lassa feverwas reported in November 2016 in Taraba State, Nigeria. We confirmed the outbreak, determined its extent, characterized the outbreakand instituted public health actions. Methods : during the outbreak, a case was defined as any person resident in Taraba State with severefebrile illnessthat is not responsive to the usual therapy for causes of fever in the area with or without sore throatand at least one of the following; bloody stools, bloodyvomiting, bleeding into the skin and unexplained bleeding from the nose, vagina or eyes from 1st November 2016. Hospital records and surveillance reports were reviewed. The outbreakwas described by time, place and person. Data was analyzed using Microsoft excel.