The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has convened an emergency National Council on Health meeting to discuss the Lassa fever outbreak in the country.
According to the Director, Media and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), Mrs. Boade Akinola, the meeting, which will also witness the inauguration of the National Lassa Fever Action Committee, will hold on January 19.
As at Thursday last week, the total number of Lassa fever cases recorded in 13 states across the country was 43, according to the minister of health. All states’ health commissioners and Chief Medical Directors of tertiary health facilities are expected to be in attendance.
In Lagos where the disease surfaced last Friday, the state government has placed over 132 possible contacts under surveillance. A 25-year-old undergraduate of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Ahmed Fasasi, had tested positive to Lassa fever on Friday at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Lagos. Also, the Ahmadiyya Hospital, Agege, where Fasasi was first treated before being referred to LUTH, has been shut by the Lagos State government.
