…OGSG confirms incident, moves to open isolation centre
Lassa Haemorrhagic Fever (LHF), popularly known as Lassa Fever on Monday, hit Abeokuta, Ogun state capital, killing an Assistant Chief Nursing Officer at Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta and a patient, who was allegedly brought in from a morgue in the metropolis.
Findings also revealed that a senior doctor and a nurse at the same medical facility located on the outskirts of Abeokuta at Idi-Aba, also contracted the deadly fever, but are currently being attended to at the Intensive Care Unit of the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.
An insider nurse, who spoke with BusinessDay on the condition of anonymity on Tuesday, alleged that the late senior nurse a trend those under intensive care contracted the deadly disease “due to poor working conditions at Federal Medical Centre where emergency equipment and clinical consumables are close to zero, and where workers have been paid last since September, 2016.”
In a swift response to the cases of current Lassa fever in the State, Babatunde Ipaye, Commissioner for Health, confirmed the incident and deaths of the two persons mentioned earlier, but he advised people not be panic as “the disease could only be transmitted where there is contact with the body fluid of a victim.”
Ipaye affirmed that the State Government has always been proactive on issues relating to public health, saying that Ogun State has never recorded any case of Lassa fever except for the two cases imported to the State from Ebonyi and Kogi States few months ago, just as he assured that those that had had contacts with the victims would be placed under surveillance.
He noted that the State Ministry of Health in collaboration with FMC would quickly set up an isolation centre at the hospital to attend to any emergency, while urging the Nurses to always attend to all patients in the most hygienic and clinical manner.
“We are going to immediately create an isolation centre here at FMC to cater for unexpected cases and emergency on public health issues like Lassa fever to include other communicable diseases. I have sent medical officers out to confirm the root of the case”, he added.
The Commissioner said continuous sensitization was ongoing on the need for the public to maintain high personal hygiene, get rid of rats in and around the houses, proper food storage procedures and constant hand washing.
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
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