A new outbreak of Lassa fever in "Taraba" a state in Nigeria, has just been confirmed by the Taraba state Government. In the words of the commissioner of Health, “One person died and two others have been quarantined and their blood samples have already been taken to Irrua specialist hospital in Edo state for further confirmation.”Seeing that this new development could create fear and panic among the people in this area who are just recovering from the Ebola scare in the West Africa region, Mr Vakkai in an address on Friday advised the general public to refrain from panicking, he further added that the state government had swiftly responded to the outbreak.
Talking on how the fever spreads he said;
“People usually get infected with the Lassa Virus after exposure to infected rodents, while person to person transmission occurs through direct contact with the sick person,”
He called on the residents to avoid contact with rats especially in the areas where the outbreak occurred.
“Other precautionary measures include putting food in rodent proof containers and wearing protective garbs such as masks, gloves, gowns among others,” he added.
Mr. Vakkai further called on residents to report to the nearest hospital any case of nasal bleeding, as well as bleeding through the anus and mouth which could also be symptoms of the disease.
Source : NG Premium times
Written by: Jimoh Waliu
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