15 died, 105 cases of Lassa fever in two months in Ondo -NMA
Fifteen (15) persons have been confirmed dead while 102 cases of Lassa fever have been recorded in different parts of Ondo State between January and February this year
The state Chairman of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Wale Oke who disclosed this yesterday said majority of the death occurred in January.
Mostly affected by this scourge are towns and communities in the border towns of the State including Owo, Ose, Akoko North, Akure South and Akure North Local Governments.
Oke said “as at Thursday February. Feb. 21, 102 people have been positive to Lassa fever this year. 82 people in January. and 20 people so far in February apart from 15 people dead in January as a result of the fever but no death has been recorded so far in February.”
His words “Most people that died either reported late or were already subjected to alternative treatment and doing self medication before they eventually came to hospital.
“Their kidneys and livers had been affected as a result of the delay”
Oke, who is also a staff of Federal Medical Centre, (FMC) Owo, urged residents of the state to report early to the medical centre if they experienced upsurge of temperature in their bodies.
Oke said ” We have contact tracing mechanism whereby we can place on surveillance for 21 days those that may have contact with infected person.
“We continue to monitor their temperature if it is above 37.8 and ask them quick treatment. ”
According to him, the centre has the highest success rate out of the three treatment centres in Nigeria for Lassa fever cases treatment, giving kudos to its management team.
He added that the state government had put in place measures to curtail the fever and that the government had declared state of emergency on health sector.
Oke explained that Ondo NMA alongside Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and others had engaged in series of sensitisation exercises for the people of the state.
He explained that the exercise aimed at preventing further cases in the state.
He said : “Since the outbreak of Lassa fever, we have been moving round all the health facilities to sensitise our people on the need to maintain universal caution and also to be vigilant about Lassa fever.
“So far, we have been to almost all the local government areas in the state. We rounded off with Akoko last Wednesday.
“NMA is concerned with the infection, prevention and control out of the so many pillars involved in the management of Lassa fever hence the basis for the sensitisation.”
