Borno State Government on Thursday said an outbreak of
Lassa fever has claimed the life of a 24-year-old man.
Three other suspected cases are currently under
investigation.
Addressing a press conference, the state Commissioner
for Health, Dr. Salisu Kwaya-Bura, who made the disclosure, noted that since
the first case of Lassa fever through a German woman in Lassa in 1969, which
gave the name of the disease; this is the second outbreak to be recorded in
Borno State.
The first outbreak was traced to Lassa, a town in
Borno South.
The commissioner said the deceased travelled to
Hawul and returned back to Maiduguri before being admitted to the University of
Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), where the symptoms manifested with sample
taken from him showed he was positive.
He said of the three cases under investigation, one
is a health official with two other individuals, who are currently being
managed in rapid response facility created by the state against the disease.
Kwaya-Bura said: “While it is my responsibility to
inform the public about the outbreak, I call for calm as the state has put
necessary measures to halt the further outbreak."
On the fate of the internally displaced persons
(IDPs) living in the camps over the outbreak, the commissioner explained that
the IDPs have no need to worry, as the state has readily prepared for any
emergency.
He announced that meetings would take place
henceforth from 4p.m. every day for update on tackling the outbreak.
No comments:
Post a Comment