Four persons, including two pregnant women, have reportedly died from suspected Lassa fever in Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Following the incident, the general hospital in Awe was closed, while health workers, including the medical superintendent, were placed in isolation as a precautionary step.
The outbreak reportedly began after a woman was taken to a health facility with symptoms suspected to be Lassa fever and died before receiving medical attention, while her husband later died after showing similar symptoms.
A Disease Surveillance Officer, Mallam Ahmad Yahuza Abdullahi, identified poor handling of suspected cases and the absence of motorcycles for surveillance officers as key challenges.
He said, “None of the Disease Surveillance Officers across the 13 LGAs of Nasarawa State has been provided with motorcycles by the government, which is affecting prompt response to remote areas.”
“The state government sent an ambulance to Awe to convey six suspected cases for isolation in Lafia, but they were allowed to escape even before the laboratory test results were released.”
In view of the situation, health workers appealed for protective equipment to effectively manage the outbreak. A nurse at the Awe General Hospital, Ovey Polycarp, said, “The two women were brought to the hospital almost at the same time with symptoms resembling malaria, but their conditions deteriorated to bleeding and haemorrhage, which led to their deaths.
“We are living in fear because we do not have protective equipment to manage the outbreak.”
However, the Director of Public Health at the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health, Dr Peter Attah, said only one case of Lassa fever was recorded in Awe, adding that the patient died before the laboratory results were released.
