The Ogun Government has confirmed a case of Lassa Fever in the state, with a firm assurance that all was being done to contain it.
Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abeokuta.
She said the suspected Lassa Fever case was confirmed by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Virology Laboratory on January 24.
According to Coker, the patient is a pregnant 29 year- old who took ill and was referred to the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Abeokuta.
She, however, disclosed that, contrary to some reports circulating in the media, “the patient is not dead as she was transferred to the Federal Specialist Hospital in Irua, Edo, whose facilities provided the patient with the full benefit of multidisciplinary care required for her due to her pregnancy.”
She added that the Rapid Response Team has commenced line listing of all who had come into contact with the patient for surveillance purposes, including her relatives and hospital staff that managed the case.
Coker assured members of the public that the state acted proactively by putting all countermeasures in place to contain the situation.
She urged residents and the public to maintain proper hygiene and avoid contact with rodents, adding that they should cover their food properly and ensure that their food was warmed before eating it.
“We have given thermometers to those who have been in contact with the patient to monitor their temperatures and also provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at the designated treatment center at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu.
“Our health educators and officers have been deployed into action and are educating the public on ways to avoid being infected with Lassa Fever.
“Other emerging or suspected cases of viral hemorrhagic fevers are to be isolated in the designated quarantine areas for barriers nursing until a definitive diagnosis is concluded.
“The state epidemiologist should immediately be notified on telephone numbers 0818 897 8393 and 0818 897 8392 in case of any suspected case,” the commissioner added.
