Lassa Fever Kills Mum & Baby in Port Harcourt

Following the recent Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria, a nursing mum and her two-week-old baby have died of the disease in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Confirming the report on Monday, the state’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Theophilus Odagme, told newsmen:

“First incident happened between December 30, 2015, and January 1, to a mother and later to her two weeks old child. Yesterday, at about 10:00 pm, I received a call that a mother and child died in a hospital following similar and serious fever which killed them and was suspected to be Lassa fever. After series of test conducted on them, it was confirmed they died of the disease.”

He added that government is collaborating with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to curb the spread of the disease in the state, noting that contact tracing had begun and sensitisation of health care providers was ongoing.

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He appealed to residents with symptoms of the disease such as high fever, vomiting, bleeding from the nose, mouth and anus, to visit government hospitals around them for diagnosis, adding that maintaining proper hygiene and ensuring food and food items are preserved from rodents are also crucial.