Outrage as Doctor Dies of Lassa Fever in Jos

Outrage as Doctor Dies of Lassa Fever in Jos

Resident doctors in Nigeria have blamed systemic failure in the healthcare sector for the death of their colleague, Dr. Salome Oboyi, who died after contracting Lassa fever while on duty in Jos, Plateau State.

Dr. Oboyi, a senior registrar in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BHUTH), reportedly became infected after attending to a patient in an emergency situation. She later developed symptoms associated with Lassa fever and died on Monday, triggering outrage and mourning within the medical community.

Reacting to her death, the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) described the incident as a tragic but avoidable loss, insisting it exposed long-standing systemic weaknesses in Nigeria’s health system. According to the association, inadequate infection-prevention measures, poor access to personal protective equipment (PPE), and weak emergency response protocols continue to put healthcare workers at risk.

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NARD noted that resident doctors routinely work in unsafe environments, often without proper protective gear or functional isolation facilities, despite the country being endemic to viral haemorrhagic diseases such as Lassa fever. The association stressed that frontline workers are frequently left to “improvise” while handling highly infectious cases.

The group warned that unless urgent steps are taken to strengthen hospital safety standards, ensure early detection of infectious diseases, and protect medical personnel, similar tragedies would continue to occur. It called on the Federal Government, hospital managements, and relevant health authorities to prioritise healthcare worker safety and invest more in disease surveillance and response systems.

Lassa fever is a viral illness transmitted mainly through contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces, but it can also spread through contact with the bodily fluids of infected persons — placing health workers at heightened risk.

Dr. Oboyi’s death has reignited debates over poor funding, overstretched hospitals, and the growing dangers faced by doctors working on Nigeria’s medical frontlines.

Outrage as Doctor Dies of Lassa Fever in Jos