One Dead As Lassa Fever Hits Abuja

[caption id="attachment_4054" align="alignnone" width="600"]Professor Isaac Adewole (Minister of Health)[/caption]

The minister of health, Professor Isaac Adewole, on Wednesday, announced the death of a Lassa fever victim in Abuja.

This development makes it the first fatality in the nation’s capital since the outbreak of the disease in November 2015.

In a statement signed by the Director of Press of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Boade Akinola, the death of the 33-year old man happened at the National Hospital, Abuja.

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The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Jack Momoh, who briefed the minister during his visit to National Hospital, explained that the patient was brought in unconscious from a Private Hospital in Kubwa where he was admitted for eight days.

The victim lived in Jos Plateau State, but came to see a family member in Kubwa because of his illness. He however died within 24hours of presentation at the National Hospital.

In the statement, the minister called on health workers at all levels to be more vigilant and look out for patients with symptoms of Lassa fever.

He also “directed that all primary and secondary contacts of the victim should be tracked including the staff of the private hospital in Kubwa where the deceased was first managed for one week and subsequently became unconscious before referral to National Hospital.”

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Professor Adewole, who further called on the residents of Abuja not to panic but to maintain high level vigilance and present themselves for test if they feel unhealthy or feel symptoms of Lassa fever, added that self-medication should be avoided at this period.

The symptoms of Lassa fever include high fever, stooling, tiredness and vomiting.

The Lassa fever outbreak has claimed not less than 43 lives in 10 states of the country within the last few weeks.

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