Lassa Fever has claimed the lives of nine individuals, including a 13-year-old girl, out of 39 confirmed cases in Benue State.

The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Yanmar Ortese, revealed this information during a conversation with our correspondent in Makurdi on Friday.

Ortese stated, “The state government is making arrangements for the burial of the victims.” The Chief Medical Director of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital Makurdi (BSUTH), Dr. Stephen Hwande, confirmed the outbreak during an interaction with newsmen.

Hwande explained that the confirmed cases were among the 10 suspected persons referred to the hospital from various healthcare facilities, including the Federal University of Health Science, Otukpo, Nigerian Airforce Hospital, Federal Medical Centre Makurdi, and private hospitals.

He mentioned that the hospital had received a grant from the state government to upgrade facilities at the isolation center, ensuring effective management of Lassa Fever and other infectious diseases.

Hwande urged individuals with symptoms of Lassa Fever to seek prompt medical attention and emphasized the availability of prevention drugs at the institution.

Professor Audu Onyemocho, the State Focal Person for Infection Prevention and Control, explained that Lassa Fever can be contracted from infected rats or persons. He listed symptoms such as a temperature above 38 degrees, weakness of the body, sore throat, vomiting, acute kidney injury, and bloody urine.

Onyemocho advised the public to avoid drying cassava chips and garri on the roads, ensure proper covering of foodstuff, and take measures to block rats’ access in houses to prevent them from coming into contact with food.

The state health authorities are actively engaged in raising awareness and implementing preventive measures to curb the spread of the disease.