Politics

Kogi confirms 9 cases of Lassa fever, 4 deaths

Sunday, February 09, 2020 at 3:52 PM by Aanu Adegun

- Four people have died as a result of Lassa fever in Kogi state

- According to the state government, cases of Lassa fever in the state is now 31

- Meanwhile, the nine cases are from Ibaji, Okene, Idah, Okehi, one, and Igalamela local government areas

The Kogi state Ministry of Health has confirmed nine cases of Lassa fever with four deaths recorded since the outbreak of the deadly disease in the state about a month ago.

Dr Austin Ojotule, the State Epidemiologist, disclosed this in statement in Lokoja on Sunday.

According to Ojotule, the state’s statistics on Lassa fever outbreak update as at Feb. 8, 2020, has a total of 31 suspected cases.

He said out of the 31 suspected cases of Lassa fever, one was probable, 17 negative, nine confirmed, while five had pending laboratory results.

He said that four deaths had been recorded among the nine confirmed cases with Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 44.4 per cent; the percentage of deaths from the confirmed cases.

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The official said that the nine confirmed cases were from five local government areas of Ibaji with two, Okene, two, Idah, three, Okehi, one, and Igalamela Local Government Area, one.

He, however, noted that contact tracing and follow-up were ongoing, adding that a total of 177 contacts had been line-listed.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Lassa fever broke out in the state about a month ago.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said it is investigating the outbreak of an unknown disease in Benue state.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of NCDC, told NAN on Saturday, February 8, that the agency is taking steps to effectively manage the disease which is said to have killed 15 persons.

Abba Moro, a senator from Benue, had reported the casualty figure at the floor of the senate. He also said more than 100 persons have been infected by the disease.