LASSA FEVER: The death toll rises to 46 in 14 states of the country.

Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole

The Federal Government is to inaugurate a National Lassa Fever Action Committee in view of the outbreak of Lassa fever across the country.

"Collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, Virology Reference Laboratory, College of Medicine University of Lagos and World Health Organisation, Lagos in prevention and control of the disease".
We learnt that the ministry had distributed Glabarine injections and tablets to states having outbreaks of the disease.
Doctors could be misdiagnosing Lassa fever, facilitating the spread of the disease, she added.
He decried the emergency response arrangement set up by the government to tackle outbreak of any epidemic of this nature.
"We should not wait until there is an outbreak before we start rushing to address the epidemic".
"It can be in the form of financing, appropriate equipment and facilities, well and adequately trained manpower to handle suspected and confirmed cases, and so on".
Speaking with our correspondent, the Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department in BMH, Woke Alexander, said the victim, who infected the deceased Doctor was a pregnant woman.
The rampaging Lassa fever in Nigeria has killed a medical doctor, increasing the death toll to 46 in 14 states of the country.
"This we are doing in line with worldwide standards, the contacts of the patient are being tracked for follow-up; Drugs and other materials have also been prepositioned at our designated facilities", he said.
Speaking on Monday during a telephone interview on Sunrise Daily, the Minister said that some states could not report the outbreak because they considered it to be a sign of failure.
Meanwhile, following the first case of Lassa fever recorded in Lagos State, the state government yesterday called on residents to remain calm over the outbreak of the disease, just as it assured that it was doing everything possible to curtail the spread of the virus in the state. However, because the symptoms of Lassa fever are so varied and non-specific, clinical diagnosis is often hard, especially early in the course of the disease.
Citizens are being urged to maintain a clean environment to avoid the spread.
Olutayo Haastrup, spokesperson of the National Hospital Abuja (NHA) confirmed that in the capital city that the hospital had prepared four isolation wards.
Lassa fever has claimed two more lives in Plateau State, the state government confirmed on Monday in Jos, the state capital.
The Commissioner for Health, Mr Kuden Dayin, confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the victims died at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), on Saturday.

Another latest development brings to three, the number of persons that have died so far after the commissioner confirmed the death of one person at Ting village in Fombur District of Mangu local government area last week.
According to Dayin, relations, friends and health workers, who came in contact with the latest victims, have been placed under surveillance.
He also disclosed that 32 persons were currently under surveillance in Mangu, up from the 15 earlier placed under surveillance in that area last week.
The commissioner, however, said that none of the persons under surveillance had shown any positive sign of symptoms of the disease.
He commended the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation for supplying drugs to the state through the Centre for Disease Control.