Lassa fever claims first casualty in Lagos

The Lagos State Government yesterday confirmed two more cases of Lassa fever in the state with one of the victims already dead.

The development brought the number of Lassa fever cases in the state to three, including the index case at Ahmaddiya Hospital in Ojokoro part of the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, yesterday said the index case was responding to treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

The second victim, he said, is a 36-year-old lady; an indigene of Kogi State who was first discovered at Naval Reference Hospital, Ojo on January 18 before she was referred to Mainland Hospital the same day and has since been receiving antiviral medication.

Idris said yesterday that her condition was stable and ambulating.

The third case, he said, died because he presented late.

He is said to be a 51-year-old resident of Ilasan Leki and indigene of Edo State where he attended a wedding ceremony on December 28, last year.

He was initially admitted at Divine Medical Centre in Ikoyi on January 12, this year, but died at 2 pm the same day before the result of the laboratory test that confirmed him positive was received.

His corpse has been kept in the morgue in a leakproof body bag.

He was to be buried yesterday, after due consultations with his family.

Idris said there were eight negative cases while three others were pending for confirmation.

He said his ministry had listed 447 contacts of the confirmed cases and 438 (98 per cent) of the contacts were being monitored.

“The three confirmed cases are not related in terms of source of infections,” he stated.

The Commissioner said his ministry had requested for more Ribavirin injection and tablets, personal protective equipments (PPEs) and other items from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), Abuja.

The Commissioner for Environment, Hon Samuel Adejare, said open defecation and dirty environment should be avoided in order to rid the environment of rodents.

He said: “Cultural change is expected at this point in time. People should learn to live more responsibly.

“The state, through the Ministry of Environment, will step up its game of environmental laws through the police and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade.”

The two commissioners said whenever they notice any symptoms of Lassa fever, particularly persistent high fever that is not responding to standard treatment for malaria and typhoid, members of the public and health workers should report to the nearest health facility or call the following lines: 08037170614, 08022234273, 08022241768 08033065303, 08033086660, 08055281442 and 08023169485.

They enjoined suspected cases or their relatives to report promptly to health facilities because early medical intervention can save lives.