Nigeria: Lassa Fever Spreads to Rivers

Nigeria: Lassa Fever Spreads to Rivers

Port Harcourt — After initial reports of outbreaks of Lassa Fever in Kano and Taraba states, a nursing mother and her two weeks-old baby were reported to have died of the disease in Port Harcourt, Rivers State last week, journalists learnt yesterday.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Theophilus Odagme, disclosed this to newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday.

"The incident happened between December 30, 2015 and January 1, 2016 involving a mother and later her two weeks-old child.‬ Yesterday at about 10 pm, I received a call that a mother and her child had died in a hospital following a similar and serious fever which killed them suspected to be Lassa Fever. After series of tests conducted on them it was confirmed that they died of the disease", he said.

Dr. Odagme said the government had started work with the World Health Organization (WHO) to prevent outbreak of the disease in the state.

He said contact tracing had begun and sensitization of healthcare providers was ongoing to address the disease.‬

The commissioner appealed to residents with symptoms of the disease to visit any nearest government hospital for diagnosis.