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Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has set up an Emergency Response Committee on Lassa Fever, following recent reported cases of the disease in the state.
The state had, at the weekend, recorded an outbreak of Lassa fever in some communities.
The governor, in a swift reaction, has put machinery in motion for the cure of the disease among those infected as they are already receiving treatment in various hospitals in the state.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro, is the chairman of the response committee while the General Manager of the state Waste Management Authority, Mrs Bola Akinyanmi, is the secretary.
Other members of the committee include 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 Area, 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.
Inaugurating the committee, Akeredolu urged the members to ensure that Lassa fever is flushed out of the state within the shortest possible time.
Also, the governor enjoined them to embark on campaigns, advocacy visits to royal fathers and religious leaders, and to identify an appropriate dump site for human wastes.
On his part, 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.
“Our people need to maintain cleaner environments, shun the habit of indiscriminate dumping of refuse around their 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 it is imperative to report any suspicious case to nearest health facility where necessary tests would be carried out to ascertain if it is 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.
Adegbenro said early detection and treatment of Lassa fever, which he explained, has symptomatic evidences similar to malaria, will avoid its devastating effects like organs and kidney failure.
He further explained that visiting health facilities where appropriate diagnosis would be carried out, rather than administering treatment at home and self-medication, remains the best way to detect the scourge earlier and prevent deaths.
The commissioner listed Lassa fever symptoms to include; abdominal pains, diarrhoea and vomiting with blood stains as well as muriatic rashes in the body which occurs at the advance stage of the disease.
He appealed to security agencies to ensure people adhere to rules and regulations of operations as rights of individuals are suspended during outbreak.
