Lassa Fever: One death confirmed

One person has been confirmed dead after being infected by Lassa Fever, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has said.

Deputy Director and Head of Surveillance at the GHS, Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, indicated on Thursday, 1 March 2018 that a test conducted at the Nogouchi Memorial Institute in Accra proved positive for Lassa Fever.

Dr Asiedu-Bekoe has subsequently cautioned Ghanaians not to create an enabling environment for rats to invade their homes in the wake of the looming threat of an outbreak.

The GHS had earlier issued an alert concerning the outbreak of the disease in 18 states in Nigeria with over 300 cases and 31 deaths, necessitating urgent spontaneous national response actions among all neighbouring countries.

According to him, the disease is endemic in neighbouring countries with rat being the causative agent, and, therefore, entreated the public to improve on their hygiene.

In response to the Lassa Fever alert, the Tema and Ashaiman Assemblies have announced plans to fumigate the areas against rats as a preventive measure.