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Nigeria: Strange Disease Kills 2 Doctors in Ebonyi

Shiloh

Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=106097

Strange Disease Kills 2 Doctors in Ebonyi
From Christopher Isiguzo in Abakaliki, 03.16.2008

At least two medical doctors have been confirmed dead at Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital (EBSUTH), Abakaliki, following an unidentified ailment, while a third, is reportedly in critical condition.
The first victim, Dr Njoku, Senior Registrar, was said to have died December last year, barely a month after his wedding, while the second victim, Dr Ama, a junior resident doctor who took care of Njoku when he was sick, died last week, after a protracted ailment suspected to be related.
Both victims worked at the Surgery Department where it was suspected they might have been infected in the course of series of surgical operations they performed. Management have closed the surgery department till further notice, in liaison with the state government, while some patients in the place have been moved out, apparently to avoid contacting the disease.
Already, THISDAY checks showed that the Federal Ministry of Health has dispatched a team of crack medical experts to the hospital, following a distress signal received from Ebonyi State government and management of the hospital.
The team is expected to carry out detailed investigation of the strange killer disease. THISDAY gathered that a similar outbreak claimed the lives of four nurses in the same hospital in 2005, before it was halted by a team from the Federal Ministry of Health. When THISDAY visited the hospital, a group of doctors from the Federal Ministry of Health, were seen meeting with officials of the hospital.
Leader of the visiting medical team, Dr Mike Ochoga, who refused to give details of their findings, simply said the team was in the process of finding the cause of death of the victims and possibly proffer solution.
 
Re: Nigeria: Strange Disease Kills 2 Doctors in Ebonyi

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5109&Itemid=45

Lassa fever kills two doctors in Ebonyi

Written by Dennis Agbo
Friday, 21 March 2008

ABAKALIKI ? Medical experts from the Federal Ministry of Health have confirmed that Lassa fever, a virus disease carried by rodents like rat, caused the recent death of two medical doctors at the Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital (EBSUTH).

As a result the state government has declared war on rats as a way of curtailing the spread of the virus.

Leader of a team of medical experts from Abuja to Abakaliki, yesterday, Dr. Mike Ochoga said that although investigation is still on definitive diagnosis identified the virus, Lassa fever, which he said was first, reported in Ebonyi state in 2005, as the killer of the medical doctor that died recently in EBSUTH.

He explained that the first victim had already died and had been buried before his team was invited and so they could not definitely say that his death was also caused by Lassa fever since no specimen from his remains was tested.

Dr. Ochoga revealed that Lassa fever was first discovered in Borno state, Nigeria in 1969 in a village called Lassa; hence the name Lassa fever was derived from the village in Borno state.

Two medical doctors had recently died in EBSUTH at quick succession, resulting in the invitation of medical experts from the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja to investigate the matter Subsequently, the Ebonyi state government has declared that since Lassa fever virus is being carried by a special type of rat that is common
in West Africa, the state?s ministry of health has decided to carry out enlightenment campaigns against bush burning and rat hunting for consumption.

Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr. Sunday Nwangene said ?In fact we shall be encouraging people to kill all rats in their houses; my environmental officers will go about rat decapitation and fumigation of possible environment like the teaching hospital has just done.?

Nwangene stated that government?s reaction was sparked off by the sudden death of a medical doctor at his prime, early this month, at EBSUTH where a similar death was recorded this year, precisely on the January 23.

Speaking in a state wide sensitization campaign for health workers, the Health commissioner said: ?It is quit proper to inform you of the reason for your gathering this noon?it is simply because of an outbreak of a disease threatening the precious lives of everyone including you since January this year and appears to have summoned more courage in its severity of morbidity and frightening mortality.?

The Commissioner explained that Lassa fever is a virus disease carried by rodents like rat, stressing that the virus infects humans with its infected urine, saliva and stool contaminating human food, adding that it could be spread among humans through contact with infected body fluids.
 
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