A 27 year old lady died from Lassa fever in Lagos on Tuesday January 26th. Confirming her death, the Lagos state Commissioner for Health, Jide Idris, said the lady died of the disease at the Ijede General Hospital. She is said to have traveled to Lagos from Edo state on January 2nd and had been down with a fever. "The lady had received care in one private hospital and three churches before she was referred to Ijede General Hospital with fever. She died few hours of admission. We confirmed that she died of Lassa fever on Tuesday. The remains of the patient have been kept in the morgue in leak proof body bag. She is to be buried after due consultation with her family. So far, Lagos State has recorded 20 suspected cases of Lassa fever since the outbreak of the disease. As of now, 14 suspected cases tested negative, while four cases were confirmed positive of Lassa fever.

The results of two suspected cases are pending.

The ministry has listed 537 contacts of the confirmed cases and 534 of the contacts are currently being monitored.”he said This will be the second Lassa fever death in Lagos.

A 51 year old man who also traveled to Lagos from Edo state died of the disease last week.