44 die from Lassa fever in Nigeria

The doctor from the department of Obstetrics and Gynecologist was reported to have become ill after the CS.

Obasa’s admonition is coming on the heels of the confirmation of a reported case of Lassa fever victim in the state.

The Nigeria Medical Association therefore appealed to residents of Rivers State to respond to Lassa fever the same way they tackled the Ebola virus by maintaining strict hygiene. The disease is worse in pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Following the outbreak of the deadly Lassa virus in Abuja, the federal government on Thursday commenced contact tracing of 35 persons said to have had contact with the patient who died from the disease in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“We tested him for Lassa fever and he came out positive”.

Preventing Lassa fever is first about knowing the source.

Reports of the outbreak of Lassa Fever in at least 10 states including the FCT leaving 43 dead and at least 100 hospitalized, has necessitated the need for public enlightenment and appropriate information as to protect lives.

Those most at risk include health workers, families and friends of an infected person in the course of feeding, holding and caring for them.

While stating that drugs and other materials had been prepositioned at the designated facilities across the state, Idris said isolation centres had equally been prepared to manage suspected and confirmed cases, adding that the State Government was fully prepared to manage the situation and as such people should not panic for whatever reasons.

Idris said in line with worldwide standards, 92 persons who had direct and indirect contact with the index case are now being followed-up.

While health authorities assure Africa’s most populous country of more than 170 million they have the haemorrhagic virus under control, there are fears the scale of the outbreak is being downplayed.

The patient is said to have been admitted first at a private hospital in Ojokoro area of Lagos State before being transferred to LUTH on Friday.

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However, because the symptoms of Lassa fever are so varied and non-specific, clinical diagnosis is often hard, especially early in the course of the disease. “He however died within 24hours of presentation at the National Hospital”, he said.