FOUR persons have died and 15 others are seriously ill from a strange disease in Oye-Obi, a community in Obi Local Government Area of Benue State.
President of Igede National Youths Council, Andyson Egbodo, told reporters in Makurdi that the dead were Happiness Ogbu, Onah Ogbedu, Andy Edu and Wisdom Agwo.
He said the victims experienced headache, internal heat, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach-ache, weakness of the body and swollen stomach.
“Our investigation reveals that about 15 persons as at January 29 were down with the same symptoms, some of them have already been moved to the General Hospital, Oju,” he said.
The state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Sunday Ongbabo, confirmed the development, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Ongbabo said that the team was investigating the situation to find out whether it was Lassa fever.
Also on Thursday, the Nasarawa State Government said it recorded a case of Lassa fever.
It said it was also hit by other tropical diseases.
Commissioner for Health, Ahmed Yahaya, at a briefing in Lafia, said all the 13 local government areas of the state were affected.
In Lagos, the Medical Director of the Alimosho General Hospital, Dr Madewa Adebajo, told NAN that the hospital has been placed on the alert for any case of Lassa fever.
An Emergency Preparedness Committee and Infection Control Committee have been set up, he said.
The Ekiti State government yesterday dismissed speculations in some quarters that the state might have recorded cases of Lassa fever.
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, told reporters in Ado-Ekiti that the state was ready for any outbreak.
