Lassa fever kills one person in Ghana
Mar 01 , 2018
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has confirmed the first record case of Lassa Fever in the country at Tema General Hospital.Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service who was speaking to the media in Accra on Thursday, said one person has been confirmed dead from Lassa Fever.
Lassa Fever is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with the urine, saliva faeces, and blood of infected rodents.
The confirmation, Dr Nsiah-Asare said, followed a test conducted by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
He said currently all the frontline staff at the hospital that handled the patient before he died, were being screened, while further investigations to trace the background and all contacts of the deceased were being pursued to prevent the spread of the virus.
He, therefore, called on the public to be extremely cautious of roddents and maintain good hygiene.
He also urged the public to report any suspected case of the disease.
The GHS in February issued an alert of the likelihood of outbreak of Lassa fever in the country.
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