No fewer than 63 people have been put under surveillance as Lassa fever hits Nigeria’s most populous state.
Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi on Wednesday said the 63 persons were believed to have come in contact with the state’s index case of Lassa fever.
The index haemorrhagic fever patient is currently isolated at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba.
The index case is a law graduate, sick from Ebonyi, arriving Lagos Law School, and visiting the Nigeria Air Force Clinic, and LUTH.
“They are being monitored. If they develop any symptom of Lassa fever, we will pick them up early and isolate them so that we can break the cycle of transmission,” the commissioner told the Punch.
“His destination was the Lagos Law School where he was quickly attended to at the clinic but was not getting well after being treated for malaria.
“He was then referred to the Nigeria Air Force Clinic, Onikan, where he was managed further and was referred to LUTH when there was no improvement,” Abayomi added.
The commissioner noted that the patient was suspected to have Lassa fever based on his point of origin and his non-response to standard treatment for malaria and typhoid fever.
“The test was confirmed as positive on February 17, 2020, and he was immediately transferred to the isolation containment facility in LUTH,” he said.
The fever has spread to 26 states, killing 72 victims out of 472 cases.