The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed a case of Lassa fever in a 31-year-old physician who had recently returned from a trip to the United Kingdom.
According to a statement from the agency, it was notified of the case on March 5 by the Ondo State Ministry of Health.
The agency said the physician, who was being managed at a private health facility in Ondo, passed on in early March.
“The patient departed Nigeria February 19 and returned February 27. Samples were taken late on Friday, February 28 on suspicion of Lassa fever, but the patient unfortunately passed away in the early hours of Saturday, March 1.
“The laboratory investigation returned Lassa Fever positive on PCR on Tuesday, March 4. The patient was said to have visited his fiancée in Edo State, as well as family and friends before traveling,” the statement said.
NCDC said to enhance state and international level coordination of all control and management efforts, Ondo State Ministry of Health has begun contact tracing.
It said the necessary in-country structures have been mobilised to ensure that possible contacts are traced and monitored, and information has been shared with all relevant authorities in line with the International Health Regulations (2005), with contact tracing efforts also ongoing in the UK.
NCDC added that as at March 2, 2,728 suspected cases, 535 confirmed cases and 98 deaths have been recorded across 14 states in Nigeria, with a case fatality rate of 18.3 percent.
Five states account for 91 percent of confirmed cases: Ondo (31 percent), Bauchi (24 percent), Edo (17 percent), Taraba (16 percent), and Ebonyi (three percent).
“Ten local government areas make up 68 per cent of confirmed cases, namely: Owo, Akure South, Etsako West, Kirfi, Akoko South-West, Bali, Esan North-East, Bauchi, Toro, and Jalingo,” NCDC said in its situation report.
Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease, meaning that humans become infected through contact with infected animals, primarily rats. The NCDC continues to urge Nigerians to take preventive measures to reduce the risk of infection.
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