Lassa fever contacts now 106 —Ogun commissioner

OGUN State Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye, on Sunday evening, revealed that suspected contacts of the Lassa fever patient has increased from 66 to 106.

Nigerian Tribune recalled that a 22-year-old man who travelled to Lagos from Abeokuta, suspected to have contacted the disease, is currently under medical observation at the State Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta.

Ipaye disclosed that all the contacts had been given thermometer to measure their temperatures and would be monitored by health personnel for 21 days.

He allayed the fears of residents, while assuring them that government was on top of the situation to contain the spread of the disease.

“You don’t take Lassa fever contacts to isolation centre, you only monitor their level of temperature. It’s unlike the Ebola disease where you take contacts to isolation centres.

“Initially, we had 66 contacts when I briefed you (on Friday). Between then and now, we have additional 40 contacts. Now, we are monitoring 106 contacts.

“You will recall that we have not established the contacts that met him (the patient) during his travel to the hospital. All the 66 were care-providers in all the hospitals that he’s been treated. We also had to go to his house to decontaminate it. So, everybody that lives around there are primary contacts, one way or the other; just to play safe,” he said.