FG confirms fresh Lassa fever cases in Ondo, Edo, Bauchi

The Federal Government on Wednesday said seven new cases of Lassa fever had been reported and confirmed in Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi states.

The FG also confirmed that it had recorded 44 cases of Lassa fever since December 2016 in nine states including Ogun, Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo, Nasarawa, Rivers, Ebonyi and Ondo, with some of the cases reported as probable.

In a weekly report collated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) show that four of the seven new cases were reported in Edo State, two was reported in Ondo while Bauchi had one case.

A Director at the NCDC, a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Elsie Ilori, stated this during a Lassa fever advocacy meeting with the theme: “What is the situation out there on Lassa fever?”

She called for sensitisation across all levels.

Ilori said, “The first case last year was reported on December 19 and so far, there have been reported cases in nine states and the states are Ogun, Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo, Nasarawa, Rivers, Ebonyi and Ondo. In some of these states, Lassa fever is endemic. We have had 44 confirmed cases since December and seven of them were laboratory-confirmed while seven were probable. Probable cases are cases that we were not able to collect the laboratory samples and those cases died.

“The fatality rate is high because people are not sensitised enough. We have 54.5 per cent fertility rate. So far, we have reported seven laboratory-confirmed cases and they are Edo which reported four, Ondo which reported two and Bauchi which had one.”

The Chief Executive Officer of NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said to reduce the scourge of Lassa fever in the country, healthcare workers must always apply universal precautions stipulating that medical personnel and patients must insist on having a test before treatment as malaria and Lassa fever have very similar symptoms.

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