Govt says no case of Lassa fever

The Permanent Secretary, Bauchi State Ministry of Health, Dr Saidu Gital, said on Sunday that no case of Lassa fever had been confirmed in the state.

Gital stated this while briefing newsmen in Bauchi on the outbreak of the disease.

He said that although the state had four suspected cases, three were diagnosed to be negative while laboratory result on one was pending.

``The fourth person accidentally came from Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau, but the result is being awaited," he said.

He said that the Federal Ministry of Health had supplied health personnel, protective equipment and Ribavirin tablets as well as injectable drugs for use when any case was confirmed.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the disease is an acute viral haemorrhagic fever caused by Lassa virus.

It is transmitted through direct contact with secretion, including excreta of the vector, a type of rat, which can inhabit homes.