No fewer than 24 people have been killed by Lassa Fever in Bauchi State following the outbreak of the disease from 2012 to 2015.
This is even as the Bauchi State ministry of health has confirmed four cases as a result of Lassa Fever recorded in January 2016.
The Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Health, Dr Saidu Aliyu Gital, disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Bauchi on Sunday.
Gital dismissed the report of any death as a result of Lassa fever in the state since the year began.
He said only four cases were reported since January 1 to January 10, 2016.
The Permanent Secretary explained: “In January 2016, we have recorded four suspected cases of Lassa fever, with non confirmed positive.
“The results of three were negative while the fourth person incidentally came from Kanam LGA of Plateau state”
He said, the affected LGAs in the state are Tafawa-balewa, Dass, Toro, Alkaleri and Bauchi
Gital who gave the break down of the reported cases of the outbreak in the state since 2012, said that Bauchi state first recorded six cases of Lassa fever in 2012 with four confirmed positive while five were reported dead.
He added: “In 2013 , 27 cases were reported, 10 were confirmed positive and 10 died while in 2014, the state recorded 30 cases, eight confirmed positive and six died but in 2015, 14 cases were recorded while six confirmed positive and three died”
Gital admitted that Bauchi is prone to the disease.
He said: “We are aware that Bauchi is a Lassa fever endemic state and we are not ruling out more cases which can result to death during the outbreak of disease which are from November to March but the state government has put adequate measure in place to curtail it’.
“The State government has put in place the existence of the state Rapid Response Team for all epidemic prone diseases including Lassa fever from the SMOH and the state Primary Health Care Sevelopemnt Agency with technical support from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital and International working in the state as as WHO and other sector collaborations”
According to Gital,among the response of government is the prompt and routine collection of blood samples for onward referral to National Lassa fever Treatment centre at Irrua in Edo state.
Others are mass media campaign to create awareness and sensitization, training of clinicians, public and public and private health facilities with particular attentionto the affected LGAs.
He said the government has involved religious and traditional leaders as part of measures to fight Lassa Fever while the federal ministry of health has supported the state government with proactive equipment and Ribavirin tablets to curtail the spread of the disease
Gital said efforts are in place for surveillance committed to trace all cases of Lassa fever.
It could be recall that 40 people have died of Lassa fever according to the Federal Ministry of Health since the recent outbreak of the disease in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment