DEADLY VIRUS CREPT INTO TARABA ON 25 DEC., 2015

By Johnbest chosen,

Lassa fever crept into Taraba State of Nigeria on December 25, 2015 while Christians were
celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. A victim was taken to the Federal Medical Center,
FMC, Jalingo, the state capital with symptoms suspected to be of the fever.
The second case was reported same day at the hospital. Consequently, health workers
at the FMC on break for Christmas were recalled to contain the suspected outbreak.
Five cases of the disease were recorded in three days.
Doctors were promptly mobilized by the state government to conduct tests on the
victims while some other personnel were deployed to take blood samples from the
patients outside the state for proper examination since the laboratory at the FMC was
not equipped with facilities to handle the symptoms.
Three of the five suspected victims of Lassa were reported to be from Jalingo local
government area while the others were from Ardo-Kola local government area.
The state ministry of health also engaged the services of medical personnel to go
round Taraba for sensitization to prevent the outbreak of the disease among locals.
Jingles were sponsored on Taraba Radio Broadcasting Service (TSBS) and Nigerian
Television Authority (NTA) Jalingo.
Professionals were engaged at those media stations for sensitization.
The Medical Director of FMC, Jalingo, Dr. Wiza Inusa, while speaking with Sunday
Vanguard in his office, said the symptoms observed on some of the victims showed
they may have contracted the dreaded virus.
Wiza confirmed that three of the victims had died while the others remained on
admission in stable condition.
He said the hospital was ready to deal with the situation.
The MD explained that the FMC was expecting the results from the blood samples
taken to the laboratory outside the hospital.
A relation of one of the suspected victims of Lassa fever, who spoke to Sunday
Vanguard at Agwan Fulani in Jalingo local government, lamented that the family was
already being stigmatised because of his brother who was admitted at the FMC.
The relation, Jafaru Usman, said family friends sympathising with his family over the
fate of his brother prefered to call him on phone instead of coming to the family house.
Meanwhile, Taraba State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Innocent Vakai, says the state
government had procured drugs to help the FMC, Jalingo contain the disease.
Vakai said international donors also aided the state government with drugs.
He called on the people of the state to keep their surrounding clean to prevent the
spread of the disease.