Soldier’s wife dies of Lassa Fever in UCTH

A soldier’s wife, Mrs Cristobel Itodo, age 22, is said to have died of Lassa Fever at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH). Reports said she died less than 12 hours after admission at the hospital. Mrs Itobo was brought to the Hospital on Sunday night with the Lassa fever after it was managed in a private and general hospital in Benue state.

The treatment according to our investigations was not successful and she was brought to Calabar where the husband, a soldier works. She was admitted at the Eburutu Barracks Clinic and thereafter transferred to Navy Clinic. The victim was later transferred to the UCTH for kidney treatment since the kidney was said to have parked up.

Confirming the report in his office Thursday, the Chief Medical Director of UCTH, Dr Thomas Agan, said the patient died of Lassa Fever disease. Hear him, “Yesterday after our inaugural lecture given by our eminent Professor, I got a text message from my deputy that there was a case that came in on Sunday night and lasted less than 12 hours and died”.

“This was a woman married to a soldier from Benue State took ill in Benue state and the husband work in calabar at Eburutu Barracks and right now he was posted to Maiduguri. After taken ill in Benue and tried in a private and general hospital there, she eventually decided to come to calabar”

The CMD said she was went to Eburutu clinic where she spent about 4 days and from there she was transferred to Navy Clinic and in Navy clinic she started bleeding profusely and having bled, she was managed there later brought to UCTH because of kidney failure on Sunday night where she spent less than 12 hours because her kidney sparked up and she died.

“She was not primarily our patient as it speculated. We took care of her because of the kidney failure. The Federal Ministry of Health had been informed, Nigeria Centre for Disease control has been informed, calabar municipality and cross river state government have informed. My deputy had had a meeting with relevant authorities including government and we are following due processes”.

“The truth of the matter is that the specimen that was sent outside the state has proofed that the disease was Lassa fever. She may have made contact with Nurses and Doctors those involved have been quarantined accordingly and given the necessary prophylactic. We have already fornicated the various sections she was taken to and federal ministry of health and disease control centre will arrive today”