The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) has called for improved laboratory diagnostic capacity for Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) in Nigeria.
The Senior Public Health Specialist for Epidemiology and Surveillance at the US CDC Nigeria, Oladipupo Ipadeola, made the call at a media roundtable in Abuja, to highlight its support for AFI surveillance in the country, in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and other partners.
Ipadeola said limited laboratory diagnostic capacity for AFI is leading to misdiagnosis or underdiagnosis of diseases, and inappropriate treatment and management of patients in the country.
He said addressing gaps such as weak policies, limited testing facilities, and poor diagnostic capacity is essential to strengthen AFI surveillance in Nigeria.
Ipadeola said AFI is an illness characterised by the rapid onset of fever, with or without other symptoms.
He explained that AFI can be caused by bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi, and is more prevalent in children and young adults but can affect all age groups.
According to him, AFI presents with overlapping symptoms and limited laboratory diagnostic capacity complicates its management.
Ipadeola noted that AFI surveillance is crucial for early identification of infectious disease outbreaks, understanding their epidemiology, and implementing control measures.
He added that AFI surveillance refers to the systematic monitoring and investigation of cases of acute fever that occur suddenly and typically have a short duration.
Ipadeola said the federal government has shown commitment and implemented several strategies and initiatives to address AFIs.
He said some of the key actions include surveillance and monitoring to improve early detection and response, public health education campaigns, malaria control programmes, vaccination initiatives, strengthening healthcare infrastructure, and collaborating with partners to enhance AFI activities.
He explained that the US CDC, in collaboration with the NCDC and other partners, has established sentinel surveillance sites across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, testing over 11,000 samples for priority diseases such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever, Lassa fever, and COVID-19.
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