Lassa Fever: 28 -year-old Lady Dies, Pregnant Woman Confirmed Positive
181 under surveillance in Ogun
Sheriff Balogun
The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye, has disclosed that the 28-year-old lady brought in from Ebonyi State with a confirmed case of Lassa fever died at the weekend, while a pregnant woman was also confirmed positive with 181 persons under close surveillance.
Ipaye, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abeokuta, said the lady, patient Eze, received the best of medical attention from varying numbers of medical specialist, well trained nurses, volunteer medical officers and several well kitted support staff, adding that the second Lassa fever case was a pregnant woman of about 28-30 years old who travelled to Ogun State from Kogi State, has also been transferred to the isolation centre at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) in Sagamu.
“The late patient, Eze has received nine days course of Ribavirin, potent antibiotics, appropriate blood transfusions and necessary psychosocial support. We were only waiting to celebrate the completion of medication today and take a blood sample to confirm cure when the unexpected complication set in. We did all that we should do till the last day of treatment. We know she was not brought to our care within the expected six days or less of infection that would have positively influence the treatment outcome, but we were determine to make a success out of the first case, but we lost her,’’ Ipaye said.
In a statement by the Press Officers in the ministry, Ebunlomo Taiyese and Adeniyi Akinbobola,the commissioner said the 121 primary contacts that have been under close monitoring with one thermometer each provided have not shown any symptom suggestive of Lassa fever, saying that the first ten days of active surveillance on the contacts have been free of any suspected case, meanwhile the surveillance officers would continue to watch and keep daily communication with the contacts in the next 11 days to make up the longest incubation period of 21 days of the diseases.
According to Ipaye, “the second Lassa fever case, brought into the state has recovered from the initial fatigue, body weakness and depression. And as a responsible government, the state has taken full responsibility for her care and she has been on medication with Ribavirin for 3 days with 60 primary contacts under intensive surveillance including her family members.
The commissioner said the first contacted primary Health Care Centre by the affected pregnant woman at Iberekodo before she was been transfer to Federal Medical Center (FMC) at Idi Aba in Abeokuta had been shot down.
While appreciating the Governor Ibikunle Amosun for providing all the funding and logistics support required to contained the epidemic, Ipaye said the state government also send condolence to the family of the diseased, adding that the family has consented and has approved to bury the remains according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
He called on public not to panic and the health workers who are the most vulnerable to maintain personal and environmental hygiene, ensure they keep rat and rodents out of the house, protects all food items and drinks to avoid contacts with excreta of rats, ensure universal precaution in the management of all patients, report cases of patient with fever that are not responding to regular anti-malaria and anti-biotics for more than three days and report immediately any persons with fever and bleeding from any parts of the body to the nearest General Hospitals across the state.