The Jigawa state government has confirmed a case of Lassa
fever involving a medical doctor at
Jahun local government area of the state.
Salisu Mu’azu, acting permanent secretary, Jigawa state
ministry of health, disclosed this to journalists on Sunday.
He said Anthony Etim, the victim, is a staff member of
Medicins Sans Frontieres also known as Doctors without Borders.
Mu’azu said Etim developed symptoms of the virus after an
official engagement at an internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Borno
state.
The acting permanent secretary said Etim is undergoing
treatment at the isolated infectious disease control unit in Jahun hospital.
In Ogun, Tomi coker, the state commissioner of health,
confirmed a single case of the disease.
She said the case was confirmed by the Lagos State
University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Virology Laboratory on January 24.
She said the patient is a pregnant 29-year-old who took ill
and was referred to the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Abeokuta.
Coker, however, said contrary to some reports, “the patient
is not dead as she was transferred to the Federal Specialist Hospital in Irua,
Edo, whose facilities provided the patient with the full benefit of
multidisciplinary care required for her due to her pregnancy”.
She added that the rapid response team has commenced line
listing of all persons who had come into contact with the patient for
surveillance purposes, including her relatives and hospital staff that managed
the case.
Coker assured Nigerians that the state acted proactively by
putting all countermeasures in place to contain the situation.
“We have given thermometers to those who have been in
contact with the patient to monitor their temperatures and also provided
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at the designated treatment center at
Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu,” she said.
“Our health educators and officers have been deployed into
action and are educating the public on ways to avoid being infected with Lassa
Fever.
“Other emerging or suspected cases of viral hemorrhagic
fevers are to be isolated in the designated quarantine areas for barriers
nursing until definitive diagnosis is concluded.
“The state epidemiologist should immediately be notified on
telephone numbers 0818 897 8393 and 0818 897 8392 in case of any suspected
case.”
This development comes a day after the Nigeria Centre for
Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed the death of two health workers, who
contracted the disease, in Kano.
The NCDC said 195 cases of Lassa fever have been confirmed
and that 29 deaths have been reported in 11 states as of January 24.
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