Coordinator of Response Team for Outbreak of Diseases and Emergency, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Dr Olusegun Fasina, has disclosed that the number of patients diagnosed with Lassa fever in Ibadan, Oyo State capital and its environs has increased steadily in the last two months.
Fasina spoke while fielding questions from journalists where he called for urgent action to curtail the ailment, clarifying that though not all the cases were from Ibadan, most of them were based there.
He emphasised that UCH was able to diagnose those with the ailment because it has state-of-the-art equipment to detect any complex cases of unresolved fever in less than 24 hours as well as skilled personnel to manage the situation.
“Within the last two months, we have had about 80 samples suspected of hemorrhagic fever of any source. Of the 80, we are having close to 27 being positive. That is about 35 to 40 per cent. That is very high.
“When the blood samples of suspected cases are taken, we put them in a cooler called ‘sample boxes’ to prevent officials taking the samples for isolation from being infected. We label the cooler as ‘highly infectious’ and it is opened under proper containment. The sample is processed and within six hours we have the result.
“With that procedure that we have in UCH and the results we have got so far, we can say there is increase in cases of Lassa fever in Ibadan and by extension, Oyo State.”
Fasina added that UCH being a referral hospital only has access to cases referred to it and those individuals who presented themselves after administering series of antibiotics to unsuccessfully tackle their fever-like ailments.
According to him, the development raises higher levels of fear on what would be happening in other parts of the state, especially in lesser cities and villages where victims may never be diagnosed even after they might have died.
“Judging by what we have in Ibadan, I imagine what will be happening to my people in Saki, Sepeteri and other places in their category within the state. Hemorrhagic fever genres are easily contracted through animals, particularly the domestic ones. These people are farmers. All the bats that they say we should not eat in Ibadan are delicacy there. You say we should not eat bush meat, but they are eating rat like anything there and that increases the risk of being infected.”