TwoPersons have reportedly died from Lassa fever in Benue state, barely a week after seven cases of the viral disease were reported.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Paul Ogwuche, disclosed this Thursday in Makurdi, noting that the state has recorded an increase in Lassa fever cases over the past two weeks.
According to him, two additional cases were recently captured on the state’s disease surveillance dashboard, bringing the total number of suspected cases to nine, out of which five tested positive, with two resulting in fatalities.
“As we speak now, there are nine suspected cases of Lassa fever in our dashboard. About five are positive, and unfortunately, two of them have resulted in mortality,” Ogwuche said.
He revealed that the cases were largely concentrated in Buruku and Makurdi Local Government Areas, LGAs, adding that two health workers were among those infected.
“The cases involved are in Buruku and Makurdi LGAs. Two cases came from Buruku but were diagnosed in Makurdi. There are also cases involving two health workers,” he added.
The commissioner assured that the state government has activated its emergency response mechanisms to contain the outbreak.
“As a ministry, we have responded appropriately. We have our incident rapid response team, activated our Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, and put in place all necessary mechanisms,” he stated.
Ogwuche advised that “the people must pay attention to hygiene and sanitation. Avoid rodents, especially rats. During the dry season, when grasses are burnt, rodents seek shelter in homes. If food, especially raw food items, is left uncovered, they can contaminate it,” he warned.
He further noted that surveillance has been heightened across all local government areas to ensure early detection and treatment.
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“One of the best ways to manage Lassa fever is early diagnosis and treatment. We have disease surveillance officers in all LGAs, and we have heightened their level of suspicion,” Ogwuche said.
On the newly diagnosed cases, he explained that although they were not yet showing symptoms, they would be isolated as a precaution. “The two cases are not symptomatic, but we want to take them into isolation so we can commence all management protocols,” he said.
The commissioner also called on residents to promptly report symptoms such as prolonged fever, weakness, fatigue, and bleeding from any part of the body.
He disclosed that the ministry would convene a stakeholders’ meeting to strengthen containment efforts, involving key health institutions and partners.
“We are involving the Federal Medical Centre, which hosts the molecular laboratory, the Teaching Hospital where the state isolation centre is located, the World Health Organization, state epidemiology teams, and donor partners to ensure this deadly disease is contained,” he said.