Nursing student tests positive to disease in Ekiti

chika ebuzor

January 19, 2016 3:49 AM

Ojo said the patient has been isolated, adding that top medical staff are working round the clock to save her life.

The Ekiti state commissioner for health, Dr. Olurotimi Ojo, announced that a nursing student at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti, tested positive to Lassa Fever.

He said the news was confirmed to him by Dr. Lawrence Ayodele, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital.

The commissioner said “Over the weekend, the state had confirmed a case of Lassa fever that is being managed at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti. The patient is stable and has commenced treatment. The management has begun contact-tracing but nobody has been quarantined yet.”

He said the patient was initially treated for malaria, but laboratory tests revealed that she had Lassa Fever.

The identity of the patient was not revealed.

In preparation for a fall out, the state had already prepared a quarantine centre at Oba Adejugbe General Hospital, Ado Ekiti, Ojo said.

So far, over 40 people have reportedly died as a result of the disease.

It has been reported that Lassa Fever is transmitted by rats.

chika ebuzor