Ondo records 102 cases of Lassa fever, 15 deaths in two months ― NMA

NOT less than 102 people have been confirmed to have tested positive for Lassa fever while 15 people have been reported dead in Ondo State between January and February 2019.

The state Chairman of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Wale Oke, made this known on Wednesday in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

He said   “As of Thursday, February 21, 102 people have been tested positive to Lassa fever this year. 82 people in January and 20 people so far in February aside 15 people who were reported dead in January as a result of the fever with no death recorded so far in February.

“Most of those that died either reported late or were already subjected to alternative treatment and doing self-medication before they eventually came to the hospital.

“Their kidneys and livers had been affected as a result of the delay,” he stated.

Oke, who is also a staff member at Federal Medical Centre, Owo, urged residents of the state to report early to the medical centre if they experienced an upsurge of temperature in their bodies.

” We have contact tracing mechanism whereby we can place on surveillance for 21 days those that may have contact with infected person.

“We continue to monitor their temperature if it is above 37.8 and ask them quick treatment, ” he said.

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According to him, the centre has the highest success rate out of the three treatment centres in Nigeria for Lassa fever cases treatment, giving kudos to its management team.

He added that the state government had put in place measures to curtail the fever and that the government had declared a state of emergency on the health sector.

Oke explained that Ondo NMA alongside Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and others had engaged in a series of sensitisation exercises for the people of the state.

He explained that the exercise aimed at preventing further cases in the state.

“Since the outbreak of Lassa fever, we have been moving round all the health facilities to sensitise our people on the need to maintain universal caution and also to be vigilant about Lassa fever.

“So far,  we have been to almost all the local government areas in the state. We rounded off with Akoko last Wednesday.

“NMA is concerned with the infection, prevention and control out of the so many pillars involved in the management of Lassa fever hence the basis for the sensitisation.”

He, however, mentioned Owo, Ose, Akoko North, Akure South and Akure North as the local government areas of the state with recorded cases.