Dr Abel Obetta, has reportedly died of Lassa Fever after allegedly getting infected in a hospital.
A colleague of Dr. Obetta, with the Twitter handle, @sports_doctor2 disclosed this on Monday and also lamented in his tweet that the amount medical doctors are paid as hazard allowance by the Federal Government is too small compared to the risk they are exposed to.
The post shared on his Twitter handle reads, “This is Dr. Abel. Dr. Abel is the second doctor dying from Lassa fever this year. Guess where he got it from? – Hospital. Guess how much he was paid as a hazard allowance? – 5k. The sacrifice is too much and it’s not worth it!!! Oh, I’m heartbroken. R.I.P Dr. Abel”
This disclosure is coming after the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reported that 30 health workers have been infected with the disease.
The NCDC had on Sunday expressed concern over the increasing number of casualties recorded from Lassa fever. According to NCDC, 86 deaths have so far been recorded in the year while 30 health workers have been infected with the virus.
The agency also reported that there are about 1,995 suspected cases so far in 2022.
The NCDC report reads in part, “There is a gradual increase in the number of Lassa Fever cases reported weekly. The centre noted that 86 deaths were confirmed across 74 local government areas in 21 states. Of all confirmed cases, 73 per cent are from Ondo, Edo, and Bauchi.”
“The number of suspected cases has increased compared to that reported around the same period in 2021”
Recall that the NCDC had in January said it had activated a Level 3 Emergency Operation Centre for the monitoring of Lassa fever in the country.
PHW
