Lagos records first Lassa fever case

Lagos has recorded a case of the Lassa Hemorrhagic fever.

The State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, who disclosed this on Wednesday, confirmed that the patient is currently in isolation at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH.

Abayomi, while noting that the situation is under control, called on residents to be calm and not panic, assuring that the State Government in active collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, is doing everything possible to control the spread of the disease in Lagos State.

Abayomi reiterated the need for members of the public to ensure and maintain adequate personal hygiene and environmental sanitation at all times as part of the prevention approach.

He urged residents to store house-hold refuse in sanitary refuse bags or dust bins with tight-fitting covers to avoid infestation by rats and rodents; dispose refuse properly at designated dump sites and not into the drainage system and store food items in rodent-proof containers.

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He hinted that it is by so doing that a habitable and conducive environment, and a disease-free state can be achieved.

The Commissioner advised health workers; both in the public and private hospitals in the state, to ensure that they observe universal safety precautions and comply with infection prevention and control measures when dealing with patients stressing the need to use appropriate personal protective equipment like hand gloves and facemask.

Abayomi stated that a case of Lassa fever should be suspected in any person with persistent high fever not responding to standard treatment for Malaria and Typhoid fever or bleeding from body surface.

The Commissioner urged health workers as well as citizens to report suspected case or cases of the disease to the nearest government approved health facility, the Ministry of Health or call the emergency operation centre lines – 08023169485, 08033565529 and 08052817243.