ACCRA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Ghana has recorded its first Lassa fever death of the year after the disease is reported to have killed at least 72 people in Nigeria in the past seven weeks.
The death was recorded at the General Hospital in the port city of Tema, 38 km east of the national capital, a senior official of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) confirmed on Thursday.
Anthony Nsiah-Asare, director-general of the GHS, said all the frontline staff at the hospital that handled the patient before he died are being screened, while further investigations to trace the background and all contacts of the deceased are being pursued to prevent the spread of the virus.
He said his outfit has put in place interventions to control the spread of the disease and has maintained high surveillance and issued alerts to all health institutions across the country.
In February, the GHS cautioned citizens not to create an enabling environment for rats to invade their homes amid a looming threat of an outbreak, ordering all health facilities to be on high alert following the outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria.
Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever known to be endemic in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria.
Ghana recorded its first confirmed case of Lassa fever in 2011, with two districts reporting outbreaks.
