Seven quarantined in northwest Nigeria over Lassa fever

At least seven people have been quarantined in Nigeria's northwest state of Katsina after testing positive to Lassa fever, an official said Thursday.

Shamsuddeen Yahaya, the State Director of Public Health, who made this known to reporters, said only one person died of Lassa fever in the state.

Other victims were in stable condition and responding to treatment, he added, noting that another person who tested positive had been treated and discharged.

According to him, other 18 persons whose blood samples were taken to Lagos for screening had tested negative.

The director said the 18 persons had been discharged from the General Hospital and Federal Medical Center, Katsina, where they were isolated.

The director told reporters that the Lassa fever situation in Katsina is under control and there is no need for panic among the public.

He called on the public not to stigmatize those that were treated and discharged.

Yahaya revealed that the case recorded in the state was a transmission from person-to-person during contact with an infected person.

Lassa fever is an acute and often fatal viral disease, occurring mainly in West Africa. It is usually transmitted by contact with the saliva or excreta of rats accessing homes and food stores.

A total of 268 suspected cases of Lassa fever and 138 deaths have been recorded in Nigeria so far, data from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control showed.

The Lassa fever outbreak became worsened in February but efforts have been intensified to tackle the threat and spread of Lassa fever and other hemorrhagic fevers in the country.

It was first described in 1969 in the town of Lassa located in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno. In some cases, Lassa fever has similar symptoms with malaria.

The latest outbreak is said to be the worst of the virus in Nigeria in the past four years.