The international Organisation Medecine San’ Frontiers popularly known as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) yesterday said Lassa fever virus killed two persons in Ebonyi State this week.
A member of the team, Dr Stayman Ammar dropped this hint while speaking during the inspection of projects at Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital (AE-FUTHA), Abakiliki.
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“We have started receiving new cases this season. You know that the season normally starts from December. But this week, we have two confirmed cases and unfortunately, they passed away.
“This is because they arrived late. So, that is a sign that it has started earlier as against the usual weeks to the month of December when it normally starts,” he explained.
The MSF Project Coordinator in Ebonyi, Dr Elton Mbofana, who called on the residents of the state to always wash their hands and maintain higher environmental hygiene, stated that data from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) showed that there were higher confirmed cases of the disease within eight months interval in 2022 than the whole of 2021.
“Over the recent years, NCDC has recorded an increase in cases of Lassa fever from January to August. This year alone, it had 894 reported cases compared to 510 cases for the whole of 2021.
“And in Ebonyi, MSF teams in AE-FUTHA have treated 58 patients out of which about 22 lost their lives,” he said.
Earlier, the state Health Promotion Project Manager, Dr. Benjamin Uzoma reminded the residents that treatment for Lassa fever remained free.
