Lassa fever has claimed 14 lives in Taraba from January to date, an official has said. Dr Aisha Sani, the Chairperson, Lassa Fever Committee in the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Jalingo. According to her, of the 49 suspected cases of the disease reported in the hospital, 21 persons were treated and discharged.
However, she disclosed that seven suspected Lassa fever patients on admission in the hospital had fled the facility. “Seven persons had absconded. We are making frantic efforts to arrest and bring them back to the hospital before they infect others with the disease.