Lassa Fever: Akeredolu inaugurates committee to end scourge

AS part of the effort to curb the spread of Lassa Fever in Ondo state, the State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has inaugurated an Emergency Response Committee on Lassa Fever, following recently reported cases of the disease in the state.

The Committee which was headed by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Wahab Adegbenro, was charged to ensure that Lassa fever is flushed out of the state within the shortest possible period.

Other member of the Committee include, the General Manager of Ondo State Waste Management Authority, Mrs Bola Akinyanmi, as Secretary, the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Funso Esan; Special Adviser to the Governor on Union Matters, Mr Alaba Isijola; Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Owo Local Government Council, Hon Benjamin Adebayo, Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Dipo Durojaye, Managing Director ZL Global Ltd, Dr Abiola Bashorun and Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Yemi Olowolabi among others.

The committee would embark on campaigns, advocacy visits to royal fathers and religious leaders and to identify an appropriate dump site for human wastes.

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Addressing after its inaugural meeting, the Chairman of the Committee, Dr Wahab 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. The 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.”

Adegbenro stated that early detection and treatment of Lassa Fever, which he explained, has symptomatic evidence similar to malaria, will avoid its devastating effects like organs and kidney failure which could be life-threatening and could result to death.

He further explained that visiting health facilities where appropriate diagnosis would be carried out, rather than administering treatment at home, self-medication remains the best way to detect the scourge earlier and prevent deaths.

He listed the symptoms of Lassa fever to include; abdominal pains, diarrhoea and vomiting with blood stains while muriatic rashes in the body which occurs at the advanced stage of the disease.

He, however, appealed to security agencies to ensure that people adhere to rules and regulations of operations as rights of individuals are suspended during the outbreak.