By Femi Alabi
Suspected acute Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) has made the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Kaduna (NARHK) shut down its Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department over the death of three members of staff and a patient.
The Acting Corps Commander Medical (CCM) of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General S.O. Okoigi, who disclosed this in an internal memo dated February 21, 2024.
He said a suspected index patient, who has also died, was brought to the Army hospital with febrile illness about 10 days ago.
“They are suspected to have died from acute VHF. This followed the management of a patient with febrile illness thought to have been the index patient with the disease 10 days ago, having presented with a febrile illness.
“The patient also died from the suspected disease condition. The common symptoms in those affected included fever, and nonspecific symptoms likened to malaria. However, the illness was complicated by abnormal liver function, acute kidney failure, encephalopathy, microangiopathy, elevated D-Dimer, among others.
“The A&E has been closed for thorough disinfection process and samples have been taken from suspected contacts and the deceased and sent to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) laboratory in Kano for analysis,” .