Outrage as youths seize Lassa fever victim’s corpse in Benue

By Peter Duru

Makurdi—There was outrage and increasing wellness interest successful Benue State aft immoderate misinformed youths allegedly seized the corpse of a Lassa fever victim, preventing wellness officials from conducting a harmless burial successful Ogbadibo Local Government Area of the state.

Sources said the deceased, a 54-year-old pistillate from Ogbadibo, died astatine the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi, wherever laboratory tests confirmed that she was infected with the Lassa fever virus.

Tension erupted erstwhile the Ministry of Health’s Rapid Response Team attempted to enforce modular burial protocols, prompting immoderate youths to forcibly instrumentality the corpse to a backstage mortuary successful Ugbokolo, Okpokwu LGA.The incidental prompted contiguous involution from the Benue State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Paul Ogwuche, who led a high-powered delegation of epidemiologists, section authorities officials, and information operatives to the affected communities.

After hours of aggravated dialog involving household members, accepted rulers, and younker leaders, the assemblage was successfully retrieved and buried safely successful Orokam by the State Safe Burial Team, successful compliance with the World Health Organisation (WHO), and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines.

Following the breach, Dr. Ogwuche ordered the closure of the backstage infirmary and mortuary wherever the corpse was concisely deposited, pending afloat decontamination and an epidemiological investigation.He said, “All infirmary unit and identified contacts person been placed nether aesculapian surveillance .

to forestall imaginable secondary transmission. Public wellness information is our apical priority. The authorities cannot let immoderate enactment that endangers the lives of our citizens.”

Dr. Ogwuche commended information agencies, section authorities chairmen, and assemblage leaders for their swift effect successful defusing the situation.

He disclosed that wellness acquisition campaigns had been launched crossed Ogbadibo and Okpokwu LGAs to curb misinformation, beforehand hygiene, and discourage unsafe handling of corpses.