Dozens placed under observation in Rivers over Lassa fever invasion on HWN LASSA FEVER UPDATE

Rivers State Government has placed under close medical observation 60 persons who had direct contact with the two victims- a nursing mother and two week-old baby, who died of Lassa Fever in the state in southern Nigeria.

In addition to medical surveillance on 60 persons who had direct contacts with the deceased victims include: the medical personnel and two clinics in Port Harcourt.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Theophilus Odagme, who disclosed this to journalists in Port Harcourt, also said the ministry was in touch with the husband of the victim as well as several other persons that had contact with the deceased and her baby.

Dr. Odagme said: We are in touch with as many persons that had contact with the patients; the two clinics, we have contacted them and have already decontaminated them. We have contact with the family, especially the husband of the deceased woman to generate the list of those who attended to the woman and attended the naming ceremony before the baby passed on.

The Commissioner also said the husband of the victim has also been requested to generate list of the members of the public who had direct or secondary contacts with the victims and approximates that the expected number would be more than 50 persons because the two-week-old baby died during a naming ceremony.

Dr. Odagme also said the corpses of the victims were buried immediately in accordance with the World Health Organisation, WHO, standard of managing Lassa Fever.

He explained that so far none of those under medical surveillance have shown symptoms of Lassa Fever, which include high fever, stooling, vomiting and bleeding from the nose, mouth and anus and as such none has been quarantined.

He advised members of the public to maintain good hygiene and anyone who notices any of the symptoms to report to the nearest health centre or hospital for urgent medical attention.

The commissioner stated that the state government had started work with the World Health Organization (WHO) to prevent spread of the disease in the state.

He advised members of the public to ensure their food and foodstuffs were properly covered to avoid contact with rodents which are vectors of the haemorrhagic viral disease.

Source: PMNEWSNIGERIA, HWN AFRICA.