Lagos records second death from Lassa fever

Lassa fever

A 27 -year-old lady has died of Lassa fever at the Ijede General Hospital in Lagos.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, confirmed the death in a statement issued by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.

According to Idris, the patient had received treatment from a private hospital and three churches before she was referred to the general hospital where she eventually died on Tuesday.

The commissioner noted that the deceased may have contacted the disease after she travelled to Edo State in December for the Christmas holiday and came back in January.

Idris said that the health ministry had begun tracing 90 persons that might have had contact with the victim.

He stated, “The lady had received care in one private hospital and three churches before she was referred to the Ijede General Hospital with fever. She died few hours after she was admitted. We confirmed that she died of Lassa fever on Tuesday.

“The remains of the patient have been kept in the morgue in a sealed body bag. She is to be buried after due consultation with her family.

“So far, Lagos State has recorded 20 suspected cases of Lassa fever since the outbreak of the disease. As of now 14 suspected cases tested negative, while four cases were confirmed positive. The results of two suspected cases are pending. The ministry has listed 537 contacts of the confirmed cases and 534 of the contacts are currently being monitored.”

Meanwhile, the people of Ungwan Yero Community in Badarawa/Malali ward, Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Wednesday declared war against rats, rodents and other carriers of the dreaded Lassa fever.

Mallam Danladi Yero, the head of the community, told journalists in Kaduna.

Yero noted that his domain (area) was known to be notorious for rats, adding that they(rats) are ubiquitous in the area and must not be tolerated any longer.

He argued that with the recent outbreak of the dreaded virus, members of the community had no option but to safeguard the lives of the people by ensuring that traces of rats in the area.

He added that youth in the community have been fully mobilised to come out for the war against rats.

“With the recent outbreak of the Lassa fever, the community came together with the decision to kill as many rats that are visible within their community,” he said.

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