The Adamawa State Government has confirmed the death of one person from Lassa fever in the state.
The state government, however, said, while the deceased was one of the four persons suspected with the virus, the three others had tested negative to it and had been discharged from hospital.
The state Commissioner for Health & Human Services, Prof Abdullahi Isa, who made the confirmation during a press briefing in Yola on Tuesday, said the deceased was a pregnant woman who suffered a stillbirth.
He said, “The index case was a 29-year-old woman from Numan local government area who was first seen as a gravid patient in a private health facility here in Yola on 18th January 2020 and referred to FMC Yola on the 21st January 2020. There, she expelled a macerated stillbirth.”
Prof Abdullahi said after the woman was suspected of the Lassa fever virus, her blood sample was taken and sent to a reference laboratory in Abuja where she tested positive for Lassa fever virus.
He added that while the 29-year-old woman died, the other three suspected cases who were from Yola North, Yola South and Girei LGAs had since been certified okay.
He said his ministry had taken steps to prevent and control, including contact tracing through identification, line listing and follow up of contacts for the next 21 days,
He confirmed a statewide public enlightenment campaign, as well as reorientation of health facility staff on infection prevention and control practices.
The commissioner who noted that Lasss fever is a viral disease primarily transmitted through rats, advised members of the public to keep their homes and surroundings free of the rodents.
