TheCable

Daniel Iya, Nasarawa state commissioner for Health, on Tuesday confirmed the death of a 13-year-old boy from Lassa fever attack.

Iya told reporters in Lafia, the state capital, that the death of the boy had brought the number of lives lost to the disease since the outbreak in the state in December, 2015, to three.

He attributed the latest incident to late commencement of treatment due to ongoing strike by workers in the state.

He said the deceased had visited a private hospital and was not properly diagnosed and treated before being discharged.

Iya said that the ministry later traced the victim, “tested him and took him to the National Hospital in Abuja where he eventually died over the weekend”.

He, therefore, appealed to organised labour in the state to reconsider the industrial action for health personnel to return to work as the strike was impacting negatively on the lives of the people.

Iya said the emergency unit in the ministry had been proactive in fighting the scourge in spite of the strike, and urged members of the public to report any suspected case to the ministry.