Rivers State Govern­ment says it has dis­covered a new case of Lassa fever in a private hospital in the state. This came as the federal government announced the resurgence of the dis­ease in some states of the federation. Confirming the new outbreak of the disease to newsmen on Wednes­day in Port Harcourt, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Theophilus Odagme, said the patient, who has been well- man­aged by doc-tors, has fully recovered and discharged.
Odagme said the Min­istry of Health has col­laborated with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the private hos­pital and the family of the patient, to ensure that the processes of decontamina­tion and contact were ef­fectively carried out. He advised people not to panic, adding that the state government was on top of the situation. He further advised peo­ple to report all cases of persistent high fever and bleeding to the nearest health facility or call for quick response.
Speaking further, the Health Commissioner said that the state govern­ment had adequate medi­cal fa-cility in Emohua to tackle cases of Lassa fever. Odagme advised mem­bers of the public to be health-conscious and not spare rats seen within their environments. “We have health facili­ties in Emohua where any patient with symptoms is treated. We are appealing to members of the public that persons with con­stant high fever should be reported to the Ministry of Health for prompt re­sponse”.
He urged the people to ensure that sick persons are properly treated to know their health status.
BT