Nigerian Universities Employ Cats To Fight Lassa

Nigerian Universities Employ Cats To Fight Lassa
Universities across Nigeria are employing cats
as a way to prevent the spread of Lassa fever in
their institution, Punch reports.
It was reported that while the students
previously did not mind the rodents, but with the
threat of the deadly virus they have had to
employ a less drastic and more natural method,
like cats, to protect themselves.
School lecturers
and other
authorities, have reiterated the
importance of good hygiene and cleanliness, which the students are
also adopting.
On its part, the University of Benin has begun actively working on
ways to eradicate rodents since the reported death of a student in
the institution
The University of Port Harcourt has also joined
the fight, saying that their health workers are
currently being trained to deal with the outbreak
of Lassa.
Students at the CrossRiver University of Technology in Calabar have reduced their consumption of ‘garri’ due to fear of the virus.
Other schools are either fumigating or
maintaining an hygienic environment to protect
themselves from Lassa.
So far, the disease has claimed over 60 lives in
Nigeria.

ABOUT LASSA FEVER
Lassa fever or Lassa hemorrhagic fever ( LHF ) is
an acute viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the
Lassa virus and first described in 1969 in the
town of Lassa, in Borno State, Nigeria. The virus
is a member of the Arenaviridae virus family.
Similar to ebola , clinical cases of the fever had
been known for over a decade, but had not been
connected with a viral pathogen.
The sickness frequently infects people in West
Africa. It results in 300,000 to 500,000 cases
annually and causes about 5,000 deaths each
year. Outbreaks of the disease have been
observed in Nigeria, Liberia , Sierra Leone ,Guinea ,
and the Central African Republic. The primary
animal host of the Lassa virus is the Natal
multimammate mouse ( Mastomys natalensis), an
animal found in most of sub-Saharan Africa. The
virus is probably transmitted by contact with the
feces or urine of animals accessing grain stores
in residences. Given its high rate of incidence,
the fever is a major problem in affected
countries.