One confirmed case and two suspected cases of Lassa fever have been identified in Ondo State, southwest Nigeria.
The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, made the disclosure on Wednesday in an interview with reporters in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Dr. Adeyanju said the confirmed case, which occurred in Owo, was identified at the Federal Medical Centre located in the town and had been referred to the General Hospital Irrua in Edo State for treatment.
He added that the samples of the tests conducted on the two suspected cases have also been sent to the hospital.
The Commissioner disclosed further that health officers were keeping tab on five contacts of the patients, in order to curtail the spread of the disease that have also been detected in some other states in Nigeria.
He informed reporters that emergency operation centres and surveillance operations across the state have been very active.
Adeyanju noted that widespread sensitisation programmes were ongoing, assuring the residents of the state that there was no cause for alarm.
