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Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Incident Manager of Emergency Operations Committee on Lassa fever, Anne Ojimba, has disclosed that 14 persons have so far tested positive to Lassa fever in Delta State.
Ojimba also disclosed that one person has died of the disease in the state.
Giving an update on Lassa fever during a meeting with the Commissioner for Health, Mordi Ononye in Asaba, Ojimba said the corpse of the victim who died in Kebbi State and brought home had been properly buried by the health officials.
Ojimba explained that the corpse had the potential of spreading the disease if the standard burial procedures were not adhered to.
She expressed gladness over the discharge of two patients (a corps member serving in the state and a medical doctor) earlier referred to Irrua Specialist Hospital, Edo State.
On his part, Ononye directed all medical health workers in both public and private health facilities in contact with suspected Lassa fever cases to urgently report to the Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers (DNSOs) in their locality and also submit themselves for proper screening.
Ononye said the state government would not allow the health of residents to be compromised, saying some owners of health facilities and health workers have refused to adhere to the procedures spelt out by the Emergency Operations Committee on how to contain the spread of Lassa fever.
He reiterated that any medical facility that had treated a confirmed Lassa fever case would be shut down for 48 hours and the premises decontaminated before such a facility would be allowed to continue to render service to patients, adding that such facilities posed as risk of spreading the disease.
Ononye decried uncooperative attitude of health workers with the Emergency Operations Committee to carry out contact tracing, stressing that it was impeding efforts of the committee.
The commissioner appreciated the officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control for sending a rapid response team, led by Belu Abaye to the state with a view to giving technical assistance on how to contain the disease.
