Lassa Fever Kills Medical Doctor In PH …RSG Moves To Fumigate Densely Populated Areas

L-R: Chief of Staff to the President, Alhaji Abba Kyari, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffery Onyema, President Boni Yayi of Benin Republic, and President Muhammadu Buhari, during President Boni Yayi’s visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday

The Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Rivers State, Dr Furo Green, has disclosed that Dr Living Jamala of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department in the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) has died after having contacted with a patient of Lassa Fever.
He said the authorities of BMSH and NMA as well as Rivers State Ministry of Health were working with experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO), to curb the menace.
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.
Alexander said Jamala like every other Doctor, was making efforts to save the life of the pregnant woman and her baby.
He said, “when the pregnant woman came in, the late Jamala had to rush to assist to take her through a possible caesarean session.
He broke all protocols of payment and other hitches just to make sure he delivered the baby for the woman.
“That department deals with body fluids. The patient never presented any sign of Lassa fever during her ante-natal. Few days after that period, the Doctor started having fever and showing other signs of malaria. We never knew it was Lassa fever until the day he started vomiting blood.
“We tested him for Lassa fever and he came out positive. We then rushed him to the Lassa Fever special centre but it was too late. By the time we got there, Dr. Jamala had died.”
The Nigeria Medical Association therefore appealed to residents of Rivers State to respond to Lassa fever the same way they tackled the Ebola virus by maintaining strict hygiene.
Meanwhile, following reported cases of Lassa fever in some parts of the country, and the rising incidence in the state, the Rivers State Government says it will soon fumigate densely populated settlements in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Head, Public Enlightenment Department, Ministry of Health, Dr Nnanna Onyekwere, said the move was to rid such areas of rats which were the vectors for transmitting the fever.
Onyekwere who spoke, yesterday in Port Harcourt, said the state government would take steps to check the spread of the fever in the state.
Our correspondent recalls that Lassa fever re-emerged in some parts of the country, including Rivers, where it claimed two lives.
Onyekwere urged residents of the state to exhibit sound sanitary habits in their homes to avoid being infected.
“The disease is treatable, but preventive approach is the best; members of the public must learn to wash their hands thoroughly at intervals.
“Foods and drinks bought from shops must be washed because some may have been urinated and defecated upon by Lassa fever carrying rats,’’ he said.
He, however, urged them not to panic as the state was fully prepared to undertake universally acceptable measure to check the spread.
However, following the outbreak of Lassa fever in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the government has commenced tracing of 35 persons that were believed to have had contact with the late patient.
The patient whose identity was yet to be made public died at the National Hospital, Abuja on Wednesday.
The latest death from Lassa fever brings the total number of deaths to 43 in the country (from 10 states).
Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Prof. Abudulsalam Nasidi, who confirmed the contact tracing, also said that 15 persons have been placed under surveillance.
The number of people under surveillance, according to him might increase before the end of the day as the contact tracing is still on.
The death patient was said to have been rushed to the National Hospital after eight days in a private hospital in Kubwa, a satellite town in FCT.
According to the Medical Director of the Hospital Dr Jack Momoh, “the patient was brought in unconscious from a Private Hospital in Kubwa where he was admitted for 8 days.
“The 33-year old newly married lived in Jos Plateau but came to see a family member in Kubua because of his illness. He however died within 24hours of presentation at the National Hospital,” he said.