By AbdulRaheem Aodu
Kaduna
Cases of Lassa fever have been confirmed in Kaduna with three people including a pregnant woman killed by the disease in Zangon Kataf local government area of Kaduna state.
Kaduna state Commissioner for Health, Professor Andrew Nok, confirmed yesterday that the two other persons, who lost their lives to the disease in Kaduna state, included a nurse and a medical doctor.
Nok said the nurse and medical doctor contacted the disease after administering medication on the pregnant woman at Saint Louis Hospital, Zonkwa in Zangon Kataf local government area of the state.
In a related development, Kaduna state Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Manzo Maigari said the state has not recorded any case of anthrax disease.
Maigari disclosed this at a one-day workshop organised by the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association, (NVMA) in collaboration with Africa Media Development Foundation, (AMDF) to train journalists on reporting animal related diseases (Zoonosis).
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Abdulkadir Kassim, Dr. Maigari said the state had taken proactive measure of acquiring 150,000 doses of vaccines to overcome the disease should it find its way into the state.
Presenting a paper titled “Overview of Zoonoses,” a Professor of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Prof. Junaidu Kabir said poverty and ignorance predisposed to zoonosis.
Chairman of Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association, Kaduna state chapter, Dr. Yila Umar said there were cases of zoonosis in the state, hence the needs for the training of the journalist.
