Lassa Fever kills Nurse in Nasarawa

Oshafu Ibrahim, a male nurse at Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, capital of Nasarawa, who treated the index case of Lassa fever outbreak in the state, has died of the disease. Ibrahim Adamu, chairman of the state’s rapid response task force from the ministry of health, confirmed this to NAN on Wednesday. 

Adamu said the nurse died on Tuesday, having contracted the disease through the index case in December 2015. He described the death of the nurse as a colossal loss at a time when all efforts were being made to curtail the spread of the disease in the state. 

Adamu called on healthcare providers not to allow the death of their colleague discourage them from carrying out their duty of saving lives. He urged the health workers to always observe the universal protection practice of hand washing and wearing of safety kits while attending to patients. 

The chairman said the federal and state governments had provided adequate safety kits for health workers to check the spread of the disease. The death of the nurse brings to two, deaths caused by Lassa fever since December 2015 when the viral disease broke out in the state. 

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After two weeks family abandons corpse of member that died from Lassa fever

The corpse of a middle aged man that died of the dreaded Lassa fever at the National Hospital in Abuja has not be claimed by the deceased’s family two weeks after his death.

According to The Punch report, the delay for the burial was unclear but sources in the hospital stated that the family might have abandoned the corpse ‘because of the manner of the death’.

The deceased who is 33-year-old newly-married man lived in Jos, Plateau state but came to see a relative in Kubwa due to the illness.

READ ALSO: Lassa Fever: Man arrested for selling ordinary salt as insecticide that kills rats arrested (photos)

He reportedly died within 24-hour of admission at the National Hospital, Abuja.

An employee of the hospital who pleaded anonymity said:  “The information we got was that the family of the deceased patient are scared that they may contract the disease in the process of the burial. Several calls have been put to them but it seems they are not convinced. A lot of work should be done by enlightening them that the body has been decontaminated and is therefore safe and harmless.”

However, the mouthpiece of the National Hospital, Dr. Tayo Haastrup, explained the hospital management was awaiting directive from the Federal Ministry of Health to give proper advice on the corpse.

Haastrup added that the hospital employees were not scared and panicky whenever any suspected case of Lassa fever was brought to the hospital.

He said: “Nobody is running. Our doctors, nurses and medical staff in the Accident and Emergency Department are prepared for any suspected cases of Lassa fever. We are prepared and there is no cause for alarm. All the kits are available.

“The corpse of the dead patient was well bagged as usual and cannot contaminate anybody. We have informed the Federal Ministry of Health. The ministry, through the Director, Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, Prof. Abdulsalami Nasidi, should advise us appropriately on it. We are waiting for the directive of the ministry.”

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Lassa Fever: Man arrested for selling ordinary salt as insecticide that kills rats arrested (photos)

An unscrupulous man has taken advantage of the Lassa fever scare in Nigeria to scam unsuspecting people by selling a fake substance as insecticides.

The incident that led to the arrest of a suspected scammer who sold salt to members of staff in a school as an insecticide that drives away rats and other harmful animals has been nabbed in the course of the illicit trade.

Read the story as narrated by a corper who was an eyewitness:

 

I’m a Corper and am serving at a government secondary school in Kaduna. Today a man came to our school to sell some stuff, according to him it’s an insecticide that kills cockroach, insects, scorpions, scares snakes away and most of all Lassa fever. He went into the staff room and many teachers bought the stuff. Unknown to them the content was just ordinary salt…

After making about 18,000 Naira from the sales and when he was about leaving, one of the teachers decided to open her own, Lo and behold it was ordinary salt that was packaged with no name of the product, address or phone number. So the teacher went to d corridor and called him to come and collect the stuff back and return her money that she is no longer interested.

Immediately the young man started running towards the school gate and the teacher started shouting thief thief thief with the help of some copers sitting outside, the guy was apprehended.

And I believe he was handed over to the relevant authorities

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Laser fever hits Rivers State

Rivers State Government has just confirmed the outbreak of Lassa Fever in the state, which has claimed the lives of two persons so far.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Theophilous Odageme who confirmed the outbreak today in a statement enjoined the members of the public not to panic because the state government had taken a proactive measure to contain an outbreak.

Read Also: Lassa Fever Hits Taraba, 1 Dead, 2 Quarantined 

The statement urged members of the public to report any of such symptoms as: persistent high fever, stooling, vomiting, bleeding from the nose, mouth and anus.

He advised members of the public to maintain good hygiene and quickly report any case of Lassa Fever to the nearest Health Centre or Hospital urgent attention.

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