…urges sick people to urgently go for medical test to ascertain status
By Wole Balogun
SA Media to VC
An Associate Professor of Modeling and Analytics with the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), and a regional Director (Nigeria) of the Applied Malaria Modeling Network (AMMNET), Global, USA (AMMNET), Dr. Emmanuel Afolabi Bakare has raised the alarm that most patients already infected with the deadly disease, do not exhibit its symptoms, adding that the best way to get rid of the disease is for anyone sick to seek medical test to ascertain their status.
Dr. Bakare was giving an update on the warning issued to the public by the Director, FUOYE Directorate of Health Services, Dr. Musbau Olawale at the weekend that Lassa fever has again broke out. He said the problem with Lassa fever is that 80% of those infected with Lassa virus are asymptomatic.
When asked what should be done to avoid unexpected or sudden death from the disease, he advised that everyone who is sick and suspicious of the disease should immediately go for test to ascertain his status.
Dr. Bakare further advised that there are designated health Centres where authentic tests on the lassa virus could be conducted. He said: ” There are three main treatment centres in the country — lrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre Owo and Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, as well as the Virology Laboratory of Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, are contributing to the research.hh
“samples from suspected Lassa fever patients from South-South states and some states in the South-West are tested at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital; while samples from South-East states are tested at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.
“Samples from states in the North are tested at the NCDC National Reference Laboratory Abuja and samples from South-West states are tested at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, while Federal Medical Centre, Owo in Ondo State, the newest laboratory, collects samples from Ondo State only.”
