The governor of Ondo State and his commissioners are currently meeting behind closed doors to map out strategies to tackle a fresh outbreak of Lassa fever in some communities in the state.
The Commissioner for Information, Donald Ojogo, confirmed the outbreak to PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday morning, stating that the technical details were still scanty and some data profiling needed to be completed.
It was however gathered that three local governments of Akoko South West, Ose and Owo, have already been affected, with no fewer than 15 deaths, while 28 others are in critical conditions.
It was also learnt that over 100 patients are currently on admission at the Virology Department of the Federal Medical Centre(FMC), Owo having been infected by the virus and are undergoing treatment.
The Virology Department of FMC is said to be overwhelmed by the number of patients and some of them had been transferred to the centre’s annex in Akure.
It also gathered that the wife of a medical doctor working with FMC, Owo, was also infected and she died at the weekend.
Mr Ojogo said findings and a plan of action would be made public as soon as the meeting was over.
“We are going into a meeting right now to discuss the situation, and once we are done we will make our position known to the public,” he said.
“The fact is, details of the outbreak are still scanty and we need to get all the facts and then take appropriate action to deal with the situation.”
The outbreak of the disease has become an annual occurrence, with several casualties recorded every year.
The government always intervene in every outbreak with enlightenment campaigns but the disease would reoccur the following year.
Last year, a total of 115 persons were infected with the disease in the state between January and February 2019.
Another 21 died from the disease within the period.
The state government claimed it spent about N1.6 million to treat each patient affected with Lassa fever in the state.
