An outbreak of Lassa fever has been reported in Ondo State, even as the disease claimed the life of a medical doctor on admission at Irrua Specialist Hospital, Edo State.
Dr. Liasu Ahmed, the Chief Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo, confirmed the outbreak in Ondo State to newsmen on Monday, January 22, 2018, on the telephone.
Ahmed, however, declined to give further details, explaining that it was the prerogative of the state government to release such information.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that some persons suspected to have been infected were taken to the FMC, Owo, while others with critical conditions were said to have been referred to Irua Specialist Hospital in Edo State.
Similarly, a medical doctor with the FMC, who spoke anonymously, said that a family of four persons were brought to the hospital from Oka-Akoko area of the state, while another six suspected victims were also rushed to the centre from Owo and Ose Local Government Areas of the state.
According to the medical doctor, health workers at the FMC were working under the fear of contracting the epidemic.
The state government is yet to react to the development as the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Wahaab Adegbenro did not answer calls nor reply to text messages.
Meanwhile, a medical doctor with the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, Kogi State, Ahmed Victor, who tested positive for Lassa fever, has died of the disease.
Daily Trust reports that the doctor, who was diagnosed with Lassa fever last Friday, died on Sunday evening at Irua Specialist Hospital, where he had been receiving medical attention.
Until his death, Dr. Victor was a House Officer at the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja where he contracted the disease from a seven-month-old baby, who died on last Friday.
Kogi State Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Godwin Tijani, who confirmed the death of the doctor on Monday in Lokoja, described the deceased as a man who was committed to his professional calling.
He advised healthcare practitioners in the state to always observe safety precautions whenever attending to patients.
