The Federal Medical Centre Jalingo has confirmed the death of 50 patients following an outbreak of Lassa Fever in Taraba State.
The Head of Clinical Services at the centre, Suleiman Abubakar Kirim, disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Jalingo, describing the outbreak as the most severe recorded by the hospital in recent times.
Kirim said a total of 226 suspected cases had been admitted at the facility, out of which 95 were laboratory-confirmed.
“Out of the confirmed cases, 50 patients died, while 20 others have been successfully treated and discharged,” he said.
According to him, new cases are still being reported, noting that the current outbreak represents the highest number of suspected cases and fatalities recorded by the centre in recent years.
He, however, expressed optimism that the infection rate would decline with the onset of the rainy season, explaining that transmission of Lassa fever is typically higher during the dry season.
Meanwhile, the hospital management said recently introduced service packs were aimed at improving standardisation, efficiency, safety and accountability in healthcare delivery.
The management noted that the packs were essential in addressing recurring infectious disease outbreaks such as Lassa fever, stressing the importance of structured healthcare systems in infection prevention and control.
It explained that the service pack system is widely used in major tertiary institutions across the country, including Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital and University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.
The management added that similar systems were also in use in advanced healthcare systems in countries such as Ghana, United States, India and South Africa.
According to the management, service packs play a critical role in infection prevention by ensuring the availability of sterile and properly structured consumables.
It also highlighted the role of the SERVICOM Unit in providing information, receiving complaints and facilitating prompt resolution of issues, urging the public to utilise institutional channels for clarification on healthcare matters.
