Nigeria confirms another case of Lassa fever

By Zehra Nur Duz and Adam Abu-Bashal

ANKARA/ABUJA, Nigeria (AA) – Nigeria's Plateau State on Wednesday confirmed one more case of Lassa fever, according to a news website.

In Jos city of Plateau State, eight suspected cases were taken to a laboratory for confirmation and one tested positive, AllAfrica website quoted the state commissioner for health, Nimkong Lar, as saying.

Lar noted that the patient was responding to the treatment.

Lar urged people to immediately go to the nearest health facility when they have symptoms as prompt intervention "is key in reducing the mortality rates associated with the disease."

Nigeria has been facing the Lassa fever since the first half of January with at least 48 new cases reported in 10 states, Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said in a statement on Saturday.

Last year, 674 cases of Lassa fever were detected, while 102 people died due to the epidemic in the West African country.

Lassa fever, which has been observed in many African countries such as Mali, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, was first encountered in Nigeria in 1969 in Borno state in the northeast of the country.

The Nigerian government had declared a "state of emergency" over the Lassa fever on Jan. 23, 2019.

The disease, transmitted due to contact with mouse feces, can be transmitted from person to person and leads to fatal hemorrhagic fever.

The authorities are warning the public to be careful about hygiene, and not to come into contact with mice and other rodents.

*Merve Berker contributed to the story in Ankara