Lassa fever: Minister confirms 6 deaths in Kaduna

The Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, has disclosed that a meeting with the Kaduna State Emergency Response Team (SERT) on the recent outbreak of Lassa fever has provided the etiological pattern of the disease.

He said 12 suspected cases were recorded with six mortalities, stating that two additional cases originated from another facility in the Barau Dikko Hospital, while 92 persons were under surveillance as contact persons.

Salako disclosed this at the launch of the National Deratisation Framework exercise to prevent and control the spread of Lassa fever in the country.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mahmud Adam Kambari, Salako, while providing an update on the recent outbreak of Lassa fever reported by the 44 Army Referral Hospital, Kaduna, and the subsequent spread of the disease in the state, said the team visited the 44 Army Referral Hospital on February 25, 2024.

• NIGERIA DAILY: The Loophole In Oronsaye’s Report
• Currency crisis and electoral dynamics: Navigating Nigeria’s 2023 polls

He said the general hygiene and cleanliness of the hospital was assessed and measures put in place to prevent the spread of the disease through disinfection and decontamination which were both deemed effective and found adequate.