Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025192 (Oral 057) | Published: 12 Aug 2025
Alex Almuedo-Riera1,2, Joshua Ofoli3,&, Vivian Chinel Ibeziako4, Mohammed Abdulkarim5, Ibrahim Mahmood Magari6, Obiora Okafor7, Simji Samuel Gomerep8, Yusuf Emmanuel Damar9, Omohefe Micah Obaro10, Audu Onyemocho11, Jerry Fanen Agber12, Ogbonna Nwambeke13, Ajibji Yiga Gandi14, Chizaram Fide-Nwaogu7, Yetunde Abioye7, Sylvanus Okogbenin15, Alejandro Costa1, Ann Fortin3, Pierre Formenty1, Anaïs Legand1
1Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers Team, Health Emergencies Programme, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland, 2International Department Hospital Clínic de Barcelona – Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain, 3World Health Organization, Nigeria Country Office, Abuja, Nigeria, 4World Health Organization, Nigeria Country Office, Ebonyi State Field Office, Abakaliki, Nigeria, 5World Health Organization, Nigeria Country Office – Benue State Field Office, Makurdi, Nigeria, 6Department of Medicine, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, Nigeria, 7Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Abuja, Nigeria, 8Jos University Teaching Hospital; University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria, 9World Health Organization, Nigeria Country Office, Bauchi State Field Office, Bauchi, Nigeria, 10Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria, 11Department of Community Medicine, Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo (FUHSO), Benue State, Nigeria, 12Benue State Ministry of Health and Human Services, Makurdi, Nigeria, 13Department of Public Health, Ebonyi State Ministry of Health, Abakaliki, Nigeria, 14Epidemiology unit Bauchi State Ministry of Health, Bauchi, Nigeria, 15Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, Irrua, Edo State, Nigeria
&Corresponding author: Joshua Ofoli, World Health Organization, Nigeria Country Office, Abuja, Nigeria, Email: joshua.ofoli@gmail.com
Received: 31 May 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 12 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Lassa fever, rapid response, clinical training, outbreak containment
©Alex Almuedo-Riera et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Alex Almuedo-Riera et al., Piloting of a Lassa fever clinical training package to strengthen Lassa fever response capacity in West Africa. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00057. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00057
Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic illness endemic in West Africa, posing challenges to outbreak containment. The absence of standardized clinical training undermines timely detection and care, particularly in low-experience settings. To address this, WHO and partners developed a targeted training package focused on equipping healthcare workers with essential clinical and outbreak response competencies.
Structured over 3 or 5 days, the training combines didactic sessions, practical exercises, clinical scenarios, and simulation excesise. It offers two pathways: Pathway 1, a basic training for early detection and referral and Pathway 2 an advanced supportive care package. Advocacy visits were integrated to engage stakeholders and promote sustainable funding. Participants were drawn from multiple agencies and professional cadres, including health facilities and government bodies.
Pilots were conducted in 2024 with 232 participants trained (36% female) across Ebonyi (39%), Bauchi (30%), and Benue (31%). A majority (88%) were from healthcare facilities, reflecting a strong primary care bias: Primary (31; 13%), Secondary (22; 10%), and Tertiary (13; 6%). This distribution supports early detection and timely referral—the cornerstone of outbreak containment. Participants included medical doctors (31%), nurses (22%), community health officers (CHO) (7%), and Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers (DSNO) (6%). CHOs and DSNOs were more prominent in Pathway 1 (p = 0.024), reinforcing the focus on grassroots detection. Training led to improved pre/post assessment scores. Thirty-nine facilitators (31% female) from NCDC, WHO, and teaching hospitals supported delivery, with roles spanning case management, IPC, and coordination.
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