… As Massive Blasts, Gunfire Rock Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 6
As panic continues to spread across the country over Lassa fever, the federal government has disclosed that one Lassa fever patient died yesterday in Abuja.
The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, in a statement signed by the Director of Press of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Boade Akinola, announced that the death of the confirmed Lassa fever patient happened at the National Hospital, Abuja.
According to the statement, the minister confirmed the death at the National Hospital, Abuja wednesday evening also called on health workers at all levels to be more vigilant and look out for patients with symptoms of Lassa fever.
The minister also: “directed that all primary and secondary contacts of the victim should be tracked including the staff of the private hospital in Kubwa where the deceased was first managed for one week and subsequently became unconscious before referral to National Hospital.”
He also advised that family members should report at the nearest hospital if anyone has fever for more than two days.
The minister, however, called on the residents of Abuja not to panic but to maintain high level vigilance and present themselves for test if they feel unhealthy or feel symptoms of Lassa fever which include high fever, stooling, tiredness, vomiting, etc., adding that self-medication should be avoided at this period.
The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Jack Momoh, who briefed the minister during his visit to National Hospital, explained that the patient was brought in unconscious from a Private Hospital in Kubwa where he was admitted for eight days.
The 33 year old newly married lived in Jos Plateau State, but came to see a family member in Kubwa because of his illness. He however died within 24hours of presentation at the National Hospital.
The latest death from Lassa fever brings the total number of deaths to 43 in the country (from 10 states).
In the meantime, at least six people were killed amid several large explosions and gunshots Thursday near a popular shopping mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, police said.
A national police spokesman told reporters that three police officers and three civilians were killed in the attacks mainly in front of the Sarinah mall, which is in a district of the capital that is home to luxury hotels and foreign embassies.
The U.S. Embassy issued an alert urging U.S. citizens to avoid the area, saying the “situation continues to unfold.”
“The Starbucks cafe windows are blown out. I see three dead people on the road,” Reuters quoted one of its photographers as saying. “There has been a lull in the shooting, but someone is on the roof of the building, and police are aiming their guns at him.”
The police spokesman, Anton Charliyan, said investigators didn’t yet know who was responsible, but he added: “We have previously received a threat from Islamic State [ISIS] that Indonesia will be [in] the spotlight.”
Before the attacks, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, an adviser to Vice President Jusuf Kalla, warned at a regional forum in Singapore on Wednesday that Indonesia could be “very vulnerable” to strikes by Indonesian members of ISIS.
This Day with additional report from NBC
