By Murtala Adewale, Kano

The first outbreak of Lassa fever has been confirmed at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH).

The isolated case of the deadly disease was confirmed by a source in the hospital, who said the carrier has been moved to the Infection Prevention and Control Unit.

The source disclosed that the emergency situation compelled an immediate response from the management to commence tracing and precautionary screening of hospital staff and patients.

“Last week, we had two suspected cases of Lassa fever. Initially, both were considered probable cases, but upon further testing, one was confirmed positive. The first suspected patient sadly passed away before a sample could be taken for laboratory analysis,” the source said.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain a sample from the first patient, who passed away before testing could be done. At the time of death, our doctors suspected the possibility of Lassa fever or another viral hemorrhagic fever.

“The second suspected case arrived at the hospital on foot and was immediately tested. Results later confirmed the patient to be positive for Lassa fever. The case was recorded on April 5 in Garun Mallam Local Government Area of Kano State.”

According to a reliable source, the hospital management AKTH has launched emergency protocols, screening of all individuals who may have had contact with the patient including the medical personnel and those with report cases of mild symptoms similar to malaria.

He added that some of the contacts of the confirmed case also reported symptoms that are similar to malaria, which can mimic early signs of Lassa fever.

It was gathered that the teaching hospital has escalated the case and alerted the Kano State Ministry of Health for immediate deployment of a contact tracing team to the affected community in Garun Mallam.

Efforts to speak with Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, on the government’s preparedness to curtail the spread were unsuccessful.

Nigeria has experienced significant cases of Lassa fever in the last four months with 3,465 suspected cases and 645 confirmed cases reported by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

This resulted in 118 deaths, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 18.8% in 91 local government areas across 33 states.