Methanol poisoning in South- South Nigeria: Reflections on the outbreak response

The methanol poisoning outbreak in Rivers State in May 2015, involved 84 persons in five local government areas. An incident management system comprised of an Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) committee and the Local Government Area Rapid Response Teams in an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). The EOC teams conducted case finding activities, line listing, and descriptive analysis, a retrospective cohort study and collection of local gin samples for laboratory investigation. They also coordinated community mobilization and sensitization activities, intervention meetings with local gin sellers, trace back activities and case management. Those affected were male (72; 85.7%) aged between 20 and 79 years. Of the 55 persons whose socio-demographics were obtained, forty-one persons (74.6%) were married, and 23 (41.8%) had primary education. Case fatality rate was 83.3% with an attack rate of 16 per 100,000 persons. Those exposed to ingestion of adulterated gin were six times more likely to develop methanol poisoning than those not exposed RR=6 (1.0-38.5); P=0.0078. It is hoped that this experience has positioned the state for better preparedness towards future outbreaks

The Epidemiologic Charateristics, Healthcare Associated and Household Transmission Dynamics of EVD Outbreak in a South-Southern City of Nigeria

On July 23, 2014, the EVD outbreak was declared in Nigeria following the confirmation of EVD in a traveller, who arrived acutely ill at the international airport in Lagos, South Western Nigeria from Liberia .The outbreak subsequently filtered to a south southern Nigeria city, by a symptomatic contact who escaped surveillance in Lagos and flew to the city, generating 527 contacts, 4 cases and 2 deaths. The cases were household and hospital contacts. Active surveillance should be promptly enforced at domestic airports and inter-state borders as soon as an outbreak is declared to contain its spread locall

The Epidemiologic Charateristics, Healthcare Associated and Household Transmission Dynamics of EVD Outbreak in a South-Southern City of Nigeria

On July 23, 2014, the EVD outbreak was declared in Nigeria following the confirmation of EVD in a traveller, who arrived acutely ill at the international airport in Lagos, South Western Nigeria from Liberia .The outbreak subsequently filtered to a south southern Nigeria city, by a symptomatic contact who escaped surveillance in Lagos and flew to the city, generating 527 contacts, 4 cases and 2 deaths. The cases were household and hospital contacts. Active surveillance should be promptly enforced at domestic airports and inter-state borders as soon as an outbreak is declared to contain its spread locall

Clinical profile and containment of the Ebola virus disease outbreak in two large West African cities, Nigeria, July–September 2014

Introduction: The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in Nigeria began when an infected diplomat from Liberia arrived in Lagos, the most populous city in Africa, with subsequent transmission to another large city. Methods: First-, second-, and third-generation contacts were traced, monitored, and classified. Symptomatic contacts were managed at Ebola treatment centers as suspected, probable, and confirmed EVD cases using standard operating procedures adapted from the World Health Organization EVD guidelines. Reverse transcription PCR tests confirmed EVD. Socio-demographic, clinical, hospitalization, and outcome data of the July–September 2014 Nigeria EVD cohort were analyzed. Results: The median age of the 20 EVD cases was 33 years (interquartile range 26–62 years). More females (55%), health workers (65%), and persons <40 years old (60%) were infected than males, non-health workers, and persons aged ≥40 years. No EVD case management worker contracted the disease. Presenting symptoms were fever (85%), fatigue (70%), and diarrhea (65%). Clinical syndromes were gastroenteritis (45%), hemorrhage (30%), and encephalopathy (15%). The case-fatality rate was 40% and there was one mental health complication. The average duration from symptom onset to presentation was 3 ± 2 days among survivors and 5 ± 2 days for non-survivors. The mean duration from symptom onset to discharge was 15 ± 5 days for survivors and 11 ± 2 days for non-survivors. Mortality was higher in the older age group, males, and those presenting late. Conclusion: The EVD outbreak in Nigeria was characterized by the severe febrile gastroenteritis syndrome typical of the West African outbreak, better outcomes, rapid containment, and no infection among EVD care-providers. Early case detection, an effective incident management system, and prompt case management with on-site mobilization and training of local professionals were key to the outcome