Lassa fever: NULGE urges workers to maintain effective sanitation

As more cases of Lassa fever are being reported across the country, workers in Nigeria have been urged to support efforts by the Federal Government to stop the epidemic.

Speaking to Tribune Online in Awka over the weekend, the Anambra State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Chikwelu Adigwe, noted that Lassa fever virus is transmitted by rodents which can easily be found in the environment.

He further observed that most workplaces, especially in the rural areas, are surrounded by bushes necessitating periodic bush clearing and office fumigation, those in the urban areas should also practice frequent waste disposal to avoid rodent infestation.

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While calling for the general adoption and strengthening of preventive measures such as good personal hygiene, proper sanitation, proper waste disposal in homes and offices and standardized care precaution by health workers, the labour leader urged workers to take responsibility, on individual basis, to support ongoing efforts to contain the present outbreak of Lassa fever in the country.

On the deadly coronavirus which has spread to many nations of the world after it originated from China, Comrade Adigwe advised workers to adhere to medical advice on preventive measures including washing hands with soap and water for at least thirty seconds or the use of hand sanitizer in the absence of soap, avoiding close bodily contact with sick persons, staying at home when sick and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

He called for strict adherence to the government’s directive to Nigerians against travelling to China and, perhaps, other countries that have so far recorded cases of the deadly disease.