Musa Abubakar Yarwa
Survivor of Lassa fever

1
00:00:00,180 --> 00:00:02,200
People thought it was witchcraft.

2
00:00:02,319 --> 00:00:04,519
At the beginning, people
run away from us.

3
00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:07,040
They don’t even want
you to come close.

4
00:00:07,259 --> 00:00:11,839
I could not tell what happened
when I was taken to the hospital.

5
00:00:11,839 --> 00:00:13,560
I was in the Lassa
treatment centre.

Lassa fever is a severe viral haemorrhagic disease caused by the Lassa virus.

MSF has been responding to seasonal peaks of Lassa fever in Bauchi State, one of the poorest states in Nigeria, since 2022.

Severe cases can lead to bleeding, organ failure, and death.


Dr. Ibrahim Mahmood Maigari
Coordinator of the Lassa Fever Treatment Center

6
00:00:32,219 --> 00:00:34,619
It is actually
transmitted by rats

7
00:00:34,619 --> 00:00:37,100
that live around
the domestic area,

8
00:00:37,100 --> 00:00:39,619
and then there is transmission
between humans and humans,

9
00:00:39,619 --> 00:00:41,920
which is the secondary mode
of transmission.

10
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,740
It resembles many diseases that
we see in the tropical regions.

11
00:00:45,740 --> 00:00:48,179
Here the most common
disease is malaria.

12
00:00:48,179 --> 00:00:49,780
It can present with fever,

13
00:00:49,780 --> 00:00:52,460
which is the commonest
symptom of Lassa fever.

14
00:00:52,460 --> 00:00:55,119
So it's actually difficult
for you to know

15
00:00:55,119 --> 00:00:58,460
whether the patient is having
malaria or Lassa fever.

16
00:00:58,460 --> 00:01:01,979
So we work closely with the hospitals,
within the communities.

17
00:01:01,979 --> 00:01:05,939
Whenever they have any patient
that they are suspecting of Lassa fever,

18
00:01:05,939 --> 00:01:08,500
through our transit areas,
within those communities,

19
00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:10,299
they will communicate
with us

20
00:01:10,299 --> 00:01:12,900
and then they transfer this patient
to the treatment center.


Our team of health promoters are key to sharing knowledge about Lassa fever and how to prevent the spread of the disease.


Abdullahi Muhammad Musa
Health promotion and community engagement supervisor

21
00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:28,700
We meet with key people
in the community:

22
00:01:28,700 --> 00:01:32,480
community leaders, associative
groups, women's groups,

23
00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,599
youth groups, and
we also do sensitisation

24
00:01:35,599 --> 00:01:38,659
in the community to
disseminate key messages

25
00:01:38,659 --> 00:01:39,980
on Lassa fever.

26
00:01:39,980 --> 00:01:43,099
Through awareness,
the community understands

27
00:01:43,099 --> 00:01:45,000
the signs and symptoms

28
00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,019
and the community also makes an effort
to seek proper healthcare.

29
00:01:49,519 --> 00:01:53,000
Also, during the health education
sessions in house to house,

30
00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,000
it helps to identify some cases

31
00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:56,959
and to report them
to the transit center.

Lassa fever is seasonal in Nigeria, typically occurring from October to April.

Working in close collaboration with the Nigerian Ministry of Health, the team treats patients in the Lassa Fever Treatment Centre, where they receive free care.

32
00:02:07,340 --> 00:02:09,840
Like the majority of
infectious diseases,

33
00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,139
the earlier you start
treatment the better,

34
00:02:12,139 --> 00:02:15,319
because this organism tends to
start multiplying within the body,

35
00:02:15,319 --> 00:02:18,740
and their multiplication
will cause injury to the body.

36
00:02:18,740 --> 00:02:21,439
Then we start treatment
as soon as possible.


Between 1 October 2025 and 23 March 2026, a total of 311 people were tested positive at the treatment centre, of whom 68 died.


37
00:02:28,300 --> 00:02:33,319
When I was discharged, I had spent
29 days at the hospital.

38
00:02:33,319 --> 00:02:35,719
I returned home.

39
00:02:35,719 --> 00:02:37,759
Mine was very severe.

40
00:02:38,900 --> 00:02:41,100
At the beginning,
people run away from us.

41
00:02:41,100 --> 00:02:43,300
They don’t even want
you to come close.

42
00:02:43,500 --> 00:02:45,919
MSF were the ones who helped

43
00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:50,479
and people started coming
close to us again.

44
00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:53,759
Because of the
sensitisation they do,

45
00:02:53,759 --> 00:02:56,460
that’s how people understood
that it was a disease,

46
00:02:56,460 --> 00:02:58,740
initially people thought
it was a curse.