"I Thought It Was Malaria, Until It Nearly Killed Me"

[upbeat music] Hello, and welcome to Nigerian Daily, brought to you by Media Trust.

I am Lukman Owola Agunu.

Rising deaths from Lassa fever in Nigeria are once again raising concerns among health experts and authorities.

Despite advances in disease surveillance and public awareness campaigns, the viral disease continues to claim lives across several states, with hundreds of confirmed infections recorded this year.

I actually thought it was malaria.

As a matter of fact, I did a malaria test.

Um, one of my colleagues also prescribed anti-malaria for me.

I took it for two days.

It was when I was not improving that I slowly suspected something beyond the ordinary.

What makes the situation even more worrying is that many of its early symptoms are fever, headache, and general body weakness, which are often mistaken for malaria, causing some patients to delay seeking medical attention.

Today on Nigerian Daily, we ask why do many Nigerians still struggle to identify Lassa fever early, and what can be done to prevent more lives from being lost? [upbeat music] According to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease has claimed two hundred and fourteen lives this year, with case fatality rate standing at twenty-five percent.

The figures are contained in the agency's Lassa fever situation report for epidemiological week twenty-three, covering June one to June seven, twenty twenty-six.

The NCDC also reports that Ondo, Bauchi, Edo, Taraba, and Ebonyi States count for the majority of confirmed infection recorded this year.

To understand what surviving Lassa fever is like, I spoke with Dr. Ejiko Bartholomew Eche, who is also a medical doctor.