The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) says communities across Nigeria are benefiting from expanded Lassa fever surveillance, improved laboratory services and intensified public awareness campaigns.

Banji Ipadeola, team lead for surveillance and epidemiology at the Division of Global Health Protection at the U.S. CDC, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja.

Mr Ipadeola said the interventions were strengthening early detection, protecting healthcare workers and helping communities respond more effectively to outbreaks.

According to him, the support is focused on improving outbreak coordination, protecting frontline healthcare workers, expanding laboratory capacity, strengthening disease surveillance and increasing public awareness to ensure cases are detected and managed early.

He said one of the agency’s immediate priorities during the current Lassa fever outbreak was helping Nigeria activate a coordinated emergency response.

“We supported Nigeria to activate its response systems, organise response teams and develop action plans within the first 72 hours of the outbreak to ensure a coordinated response,” he said.

He said responding quickly at the onset of an outbreak helps health authorities contain infections before they spread widely within communities.

The epidemiologist said that healthcare workers were among those at greatest risk of infection during outbreaks, adding that protecting them remains a critical part of the response.

He said the U.S. CDC was supporting investigations into how healthcare workers become infected while strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) through training, mentoring, webinars, provision of personal protective equipment and safer clinical practices.

According to him, infection prevention and control systems have been strengthened in 41 facilities under the U.S. CDC-supported Orange Network and another 90 U.S. government-supported health facilities.

“The intervention includes training infection prevention focal persons, establishing facility IPC committees, developing standard operating procedures and strengthening accountability systems to improve compliance with safety measures.

“Through online training, mentoring and focused sessions, we are helping healthcare workers recognise Lassa fever earlier, manage patients appropriately and implement stronger infection prevention and control practices,” he said.

Beyond protecting health workers, he said the agency was also investing in stronger laboratory systems to improve early diagnosis and outbreak detection.

He said the U.S. CDC is supporting laboratory testing and data management while strengthening active case-finding and contact tracing in Ondo, Edo, Bauchi, Ebonyi and Taraba states.

According to him, the intervention enables health authorities to identify suspected cases quickly and monitor people who may have been exposed to the virus before symptoms appear.

Mr Ipadeola said that health facilities in Benue and Edo states had received personal protective equipment, laboratory supplies, testing kits and medical commodities to improve patient care and reduce infections acquired within healthcare facilities.

He also said that 10 personnel at the Ondo State Public Health Laboratory had been trained to improve testing capacity and accelerate confirmation of suspected Lassa fever cases.

He said efforts are equally underway to improve disease reporting by strengthening data entry, developing timely situation reports and making the transportation of laboratory samples faster and more efficient.

“We are improving data entry, strengthening situation reporting and making it easier and faster to transport laboratory samples so that suspected cases can be confirmed without unnecessary delays,” he said.

He said that community engagement remained one of the most effective tools for controlling Lassa fever outbreaks.

He said the U.S. CDC was supporting community-based disease surveillance and public education to help residents recognise symptoms early, report suspected cases promptly and seek medical care before complications develop.

According to him, stronger community participation enhances early detection, improves contact tracing and reduces opportunities for the virus to spread within households and communities.

He said public awareness campaigns were also helping communities understand practical measures for preventing infection.

He listed some of the measures to include proper food storage, improved environmental sanitation and reducing contact with rodents, which are the primary carriers of the Lassa fever virus.

As Nigeria continues to battle seasonal Lassa fever outbreaks, he said sustained investment in community surveillance, laboratory capacity, frontline health workers and public awareness would remain critical to protecting lives.

Public health experts said early diagnosis and prompt treatment significantly improve survival and reduce the risk of severe illness.

They also said that strengthening community surveillance complements health facility-based surveillance by ensuring that unusual illnesses are reported quickly, allowing health authorities to investigate and respond before outbreaks escalate.

Stakeholders have consistently identified communities as the first line of defence against infectious disease outbreaks.

They said that resilient primary healthcare systems, well-trained healthcare workers, functional laboratories and informed citizens were essential to strengthening Nigeria’s health security.

(NAN)