…100 LUTH workers under monitoring, Resident doctor infected
Two patients receiving treatment for Lassa fever at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) have died within few days of admission in the past one week.
According to the hospital, the patients presented very late and died in spite of efforts to salvage them.
A statement signed by Professor Chris Bode, chief medical director Lagos University Teaching Hospital Lagos revealed that the first patient was a 32-year old pregnant lady with bleeding disorder who died after a stillbirth.
The statement revealed: “Post-mortem examination had been conducted before her Lassa Fever status was eventually suspected and confirmed.
“No less than 100 different hospital workers exposed to this index case are currently being monitored. A resident doctor from the Department of Anatomic and Molecular Pathology who took part in the autopsy was later confirmed with the disease and is currently on admission and responding well to treatment at the Isolation Ward of LUTH.”
The Chief Medical Director of LUTH visited the Isolation Centre of LUTH yesterday in company with his top Management staff and spoke with the doctor and staff to boost morale and assure them of the Hospital’s full support.
He enjoined all LUTH workers to maintain a heightened level of alert in the wake of this new outbreak and observe universal precautions in handling all suspected cases of this viral hemorrhagic fever.
He noted that LUTH has always worked closely with officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Health in handling a number of diseases of public importance such as rabies, cholera, Lassa fever and the recent diarrhoea disease at the Queen’s College.
Both the Lagos State Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Health have responded swiftly to contain this present Lassa fever outbreak by mobilising human and material resources to trace the sources and extent of the disease, follow up on potential contacts, identify early and test suspected cases.
There are adequate materials for containment of the disease while drugs have been made available to treat anyone confirmed with the disease. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Nigeria has also been contacted.
Two other suspected cases from Lagos state are also presently admitted and quarantined while undergoing confirmatory laboratory tests.
