The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, on Monday, disclosed that three suspected cases of Lassa fever had been recorded in the state, with one confirmed case of a patient who died before her test result came out.
Ukpong made this disclosure at the inauguration of a task force on the eradication of Lassa fever in the state, stating that one of the suspected cases absconded, while the confirmed case, a 53-year-old female crayfish seller, happened to be someone who had been undergoing treatment for HIV until her death.
The Commissioner said, “The situation is that Akwa Ibom is no longer free and since rat meat is not so much a delicacy in the state, I appeal to those that eat rat to please stop it.”
He charged the constituted Response Committee on Lassa fever to ensure the state kicks out the disease, urging the people to keep cats if they could, because cats drive away rats.
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