Lassa Fever Kills Doctor in Rivers State

Medical practitioners are the first to come in contact with patients on emergency in hospital and may have all contacted the highly contagious viral disease.

Dr Furo Green, chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Rivers state branch confirmed the death of doctor identified as Dr Levi Njamala.

He was said to have contacted the contagious Lassa fever from a female patient he conducted Cesarean Section on at the emergency unit of the hospital.

Dr Green has warned those who are still in doubts that the deadly Lassa fever epidemic is in Rivers state.

“Doctors, patients and their family have 80 percent risk factor,” he informed.

Dr Levi Njamala from the department of Obstetrics and Gynecologist who took ill after the CS, did not suspect he had contacted the deadly virus and called in fellow doctors who tested him positive for the Lassa fever.

The Hospital authority decided to take samples for further analysis to a Specialist Hospital for the treatment of Lassa fever virus in Irrua, Edo state. But they could ascertain the cause of the sickness, the doctor had already died.

Following this development, patients and medical personnel of the hospital were discharged immediately under the supervision of officials of the World Health Organization, Rivers State Ministry of Health and Federal Ministry of Health as at the time of this report.

Efforts were also being made to quarantine those who already had contact with Dr Levi Njamala.

The apex Rivers State owned hospital was also undergoing decontamination by the WHO officials at the time of this report.