Apparently disturbed by increasing cases of Lassa fever, spreading like wide fire across Ondo State, especially in Owo and Akoko areas of the state, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, on Sunday, inaugurated Emergency Response Committee on Lassa fever.
BusinessDay reports that over 80 cases of the deadly hemorrhagic fever have been recorded in the state in less than two weeks.
The committee, chaired by the state Commissioner for Health, Wahab Adegbenro, has the General Manager of Ondo State Waste Management Authority, Bola Akinyanmi, as its secretary.
The committee was charged to ensure that Lassa fever is flushed out of the state within the shortest possible time.
Also, the committee is to embark on campaigns, advocacy visits to royal fathers and religious leaders and to identify an appropriate dumpsite for human wastes.
Addressing reporters after its inaugural meeting, held at the Secretariat of Owo Local Government, Owo, chairman of the Committee, Adegbenro, said the committee was empowered to use all means available to it to checkmate attempts by anyone that may want to inhibit efforts at curtailing the incidences of Lassa Fever in the state.
He said the sensitisation campaigns would be to crisscross the state on the need for residents to keep their environment clean and live hygienic lives at all times so that the primary carrier of the Lassa virus would not live in homes and to reduce the incidences of human to human transmissions.
He said: “Our people need to maintain cleaner environments, shun the habit of indiscriminate dumping of refuse around your homes so as not to attract rats. Government has set in motion immediate plans to evacuate all dumpsites to keep rats far away.
“The original source is from rats to human, but we have lots of human to human transmission and this is more reason why it is imperative to report any suspicious case to nearest health facility where necessary tests would be carried out to ascertain if it’s malaria or not so as to have such patient appropriately referred.
“It is part of our culture to care for our sick ones, but while doing that, we must be very careful bearing in mind, the outbreak of this deadly disease,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State chairman of Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Ayo Oladapo, has informed Christians in the state of an outbreak of the deadly Lassa fever.
In a statement sent to Religious leaders across the state and obtained by our Correspondent in Akure, Reverend Oladapo, urged all church leaders to sensitive their members to ensure proper hygiene.
The statement read: “I have just been informed through the Representative of the Government that there is an outbreak of Lassa fever in the State. About 80 cases have been confirmed.
“All our Churches should please sensitize their members to cover their food properly and eradicate the existence of rats in their vicinities. Announcement should be made on Pulpits and in all our services. May God deliver us all from all deadly diseases in Jesus name.”
