Taiwo POPOOLA
A fresh outbreak of Lassa fever in Benue State has claimed the life of a medical doctor, Dr Vitalis Tersoo Azever, prompting health authorities to intensify surveillance and activate emergency response measures across the state.
Dr Azever, a staff member of APIN Public Health Initiatives in Konshisha Local Government Area, died at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) in Plateau State, where he had been receiving treatment for complications arising from the viral disease.
His death came barely 48 hours after another young doctor, Dr Cedric Tyoor Kondom, reportedly died at the same hospital from bone marrow failure, throwing the medical community in Benue into mourning.
Confirming the development on Monday in Makurdi, Benue State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Paul Ogwuche, said the ministry had commenced case and contact tracing while intensifying public awareness campaigns.
“There is a fresh case of Lassa fever in the state. Only one doctor has died. The victim was buried on Saturday, 20 June 2026,” Ogwuche said.
According to the commissioner, the state was on the verge of declaring the outbreak over after completing the required 42-day incubation period before the new case emerged.
He explained that the deceased had initially managed his illness at home and in a private hospital for more than two weeks before testing positive for Lassa fever.
“For over two weeks, he struggled with the illness. When there was no improvement, one of his friends suspected Lassa fever and conducted a test, which came back positive,” Ogwuche said.
The commissioner said medical investigations revealed that the doctor’s kidneys had already been affected, necessitating his referral to JUTH, where he later died.
“We have heightened surveillance across all health facilities and commenced case and contact tracing. We are also stepping up public enlightenment through the media, religious institutions and traditional rulers because they are closer to the communities,” he added.
Ogwuche disclosed that no other Lassa fever patient is currently on admission in any hospital in the state, but noted that authorities would now observe another 42-day incubation period before considering declaring the outbreak over.
Meanwhile, the death of Dr Cedric Tyoor Kondom, a recent medical graduate awaiting induction into the profession in 11 days, has further deepened grief within the medical community.
President of the Moses Orshio Adasu University Medical Alumni Association, Dr Msonter Anzaa, described the deaths of both doctors as devastating.
“It is with a heavy heart that I address you this morning. In the past 48 hours, death tore through our fold and made away with two of us – Dr Vitalis Tersoo Azever and Dr Cedric Tyoor Kondom,” Anzaa said.
He said Azever’s remains were handled by the Benue State Government’s Safe Burial Team before being laid to rest in his hometown in the Kwande Local Government Area.
Anzaa also announced a seven-day mourning period and declared that the third week of June would henceforth be observed as the association’s Annual Week of Remembrance in honour of deceased colleagues.
He, however, lamented what he described as persistent shortcomings in Nigeria’s healthcare system and called for renewed advocacy for reforms in the sector.
