OYO State Ministry of Health has clarified that no single case of Lassa fever has been established in the state since last year when the first suspected case was subjected to clinical test at the Federal Ministry of Health’s reference laboratory in Lagos.

In a statement by the ministry’s Acting Director of Public Health, Dr. Taiwo Ladipo, yesterday, he insisted that the three suspected cases reported and diagnosed at the University College Hospital (UCH) had no feature of the disease.

He, however, cautioned citizens of the state against consumption of rodents and to avoid contact with the blood, urine and faeces of rats when killing them as a preventive measure against Lassa fever.

Ladipo said, “Two suspected cases of Lassa fever were reported by the UCH, Ibadan in 2015. Both cases, though diagnosed at the institution, were not verified by the Federal Ministry of Health reference laboratory in Lagos. Both cases had remarkable improvement and subsequently discharged home.

“The last case was reported by the UCH on December 18, 2015 and the ministry embarked on contact tracing of all potential contacts of the index case. Seventy-two (72) individuals from the referring hospital, UCH and the child’s community were observed for three weeks for any feature of the disease.

“At the end of this period, there were no features of the illness in all contacts. The index case has since been discharged from the UCH.”