Lassa Fever Kills 75-Year-Old Woman In Delta

The Delta State government has confirmed the death of a 75-year-old woman as a result of Lassa fever.

The state government in a statement signed by the Director of Information, Paul Osahor, said the incident occurred after the woman fell sick and went to the General Hospital, Umuolu, Ndokwa East Local Government Area (LGA) on Saturday, August 18, 2018.

She was then referred to the Central Hospital, Kwale, Ndokwa West LGA the following day, August 19th and from there was further referred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba on August 24, 2018.

At the FMC, Asaba, the victim’s blood sample was taken to Irrua Specialist Hospital, Edo State for test but she died on August 29, 2018 the same day the hospital in Irrua received the lab result which was confirmed positive to the Lassa virus.

The state government has therefore advised residents in the state not to panic, “as the Ministry of Health officials are on top of the situation, doing contact tracing on those who had contact with the victim.”

The state government added that findings indicate that it is over 21 days since the victim presented at the hospital in Umuolu and Kwale and no case has been discovered, however, contact tracing is ongoing at FMC, Asaba.

As part of safety measures to check the spread, residents in the state are advised to cultivate good personal hygiene, clean and fumigate their environment, promote community hygiene to prevent rodents from entering homes and protect food from rats, and to report any case of strange fever to the nearest hospital.