Lagos of old |
The Lagos State Government yesterday
confirmed two more cases of Lassa fever in the state with one of the victims
already dead.
The development brought the number of Lassa
fever cases in the state to three, including the index case at Ahmaddiya
Hospital in Ojokoro part of the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris,
yesterday said the index case was responding to treatment at the Lagos
University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
The second victim, he said, is a 36-year-old
lady; an indigene of Kogi State who was first discovered at Naval Reference
Hospital, Ojo on January 18 before she was referred to Mainland Hospital the
same day and has since been receiving antiviral medication.
Idris said yesterday that her condition was
stable and ambulating.
The third case, he said, died because he presented late.
He is said to be a
51-year-old resident of Ilasan Leki and indigene of Edo State where he attended
a wedding ceremony on December 28, last year.
He was initially
admitted at Divine Medical Centre in Ikoyi on January 12, this year, but died
at 2 pm the same day before the result of the laboratory test that confirmed
him positive was received.
His corpse has been
kept in the morgue in a leakproof body bag.
He was to be buried
yesterday, after due consultations with his family.
Idris said there were
eight negative cases while three others were pending for confirmation.
He said his ministry
had listed 447 contacts of the confirmed cases and 438 (98 per cent) of the
contacts were being monitored.
“The three confirmed
cases are not related in terms of source of infections,” he stated.
The Commissioner said
his ministry had requested for more Ribavirin injection and tablets, personal
protective equipments (PPEs) and other items from the Federal Ministry of
Health (FMOH), Abuja.
The Commissioner for
Environment, Hon Samuel Adejare, said open defecation and dirty environment
should be avoided in order to rid the environment of rodents.
He said: “Cultural
change is expected at this point in time. People should learn to live more
responsibly.
“The state, through
the Ministry of Environment, will step up its game of environmental laws
through the police and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade.”
The two commissioners
said whenever they notice any symptoms of Lassa fever, particularly persistent
high fever that is not responding to standard treatment for malaria and
typhoid, members of the public and health workers should report to the nearest
health facility or call the following lines: 08037170614, 08022234273, 08022241768
08033065303, 08033086660, 08055281442 and 08023169485.
They enjoined
suspected cases or their relatives to report promptly to health facilities
because early medical intervention can save lives.
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