HEALTH: OYO GOVT CONFIRMS FOUR DEATHS LINKED TO SUSPECTED LASSA FEVER OUTBREAK
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Due to a possible Lassa fever outbreak, the Oyo State Ministry of Health has shuttered two hospitals in the Saki West local government area.
This comes after the Ministry of Health’s Oyo State Rapid Response Team (RRT) confirmed four deaths after visiting the impacted Saki region in response to distress calls from locals regarding what they describe as unexplained deaths.
Three men and a 32-year-old woman who was getting ready for marriage were among the dead.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, had previously assigned the Oyo State Rapid Response Team to Saki after receiving multiple calls from Saki West Local Government regarding an outbreak that has resulted in several fatalities, according to a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelade.
A thorough investigation was conducted at the scene of the incident by the team, which included the Director of Public Health, the State Epidemiologist, the State Disease Notification Officer (DSNO), the State Laboratory Focal Persons, representatives from the Red Cross and WHO, the Saki West PHC Coordinator, and the LGA DSNO.
According to background information obtained, the virus was allegedly spread by one of the hospital’s apprentices who had returned from the state’s Iwajowa Local Government Area and became ill two weeks prior to the occurrence.
“She probably spread it to her coworkers and the hospital owner,” the team observed.
The hospital owner was exhausted and self-medicated with medicines and antimalarials, but three of the deceased displayed the classic Lassa fever signs, such as craniofacial hemorrhage. It wasn’t until his self-treatment failed that his condition led to hospitalization.
A thorough contact tracing process was carried out, with special attention paid to high-risk contacts who had assisted in the deceased’s burial and bathing.
For the purpose of decontamination, the hospital where all of the deceased were connected was shut down.
The doctor was placed under observation, and the hospital that had admitted the deceased health facility owner—without being told that the patient had died of an “unknown” illness—was likewise closed for decontamination.
To inform the public about Lassa fever, its symptoms, prevention strategies, and mode of transmission, public awareness programs were organized.
In order to strengthen infection prevention control procedures and stop the sickness from spreading further, the RRT gave health personnel in the impacted areas on-the-job training.
In addition, an individual displaying symptoms had a sample taken, pending test confirmation. Contacts are still being line-listed, with an emphasis on high-risk individuals.
The Okere of Saki, represented by his second-in-command, was also briefed on the outbreak and the required containment measures during advocacy visits to his palace.
Saki West’s local government representatives were equally informed and supportive of the crisis management initiatives.
According to the investigation, the epidemic started in Saki West LGA but has now spread to Iwajowa and Kajola LGAs. The DSNOs in these LGAs have been directed to start early containment measures while they wait for the State RRT to be fully deployed.
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