The Director of Disease Control in Edo State, Osamuwonyi Irowa, says the state has recorded 521 suspected cases of Lassa fever this month.
Mr. Irowa, a medical doctor, disclosed this at the inauguration of the Emergency Operation Centre on Lassa fever in Benin on Wednesday.
He said 124 cases have been confirmed out of the 521 suspected cases recorded in 13 local government areas of the state.
The director also said 15 deaths were recorded with 509 cases under surveillance, while 10 suspected cases had developed symptoms.
Inaugurating the centre, the Deputy Governor of the state, Phillip Shaibu, said that the Lassa fever response mechanism was aimed at ensuring a coordinated control of the epidemic.
He charged the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to encourage volunteers to support their staff for effective control of the disease.
He assured that the state government was working towards building isolation centres to decongest the patient population at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital.(NAN)
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