By Martins Ifijeh
The Lagos State Government has confirmed a case of Lassa fever in the state, saying the patient has been isolated in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idia-Araba.
The Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi, who made this known in a statement Wednesday, said the situation was under control, and that Lagos residents hqd nothing to panic over.
He said the state government, in active collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was doing everything possible to control the spread of the disease in the state.
He said: “The Ministry of Health through Epidemiology, Biosecurity and Global Health Directorate is currently carrying out ‘contact tracing’ to determine those who may have been infected in line with international standards while we beef up our other surveillance strategies.
“There is the need for members of the public to ensure and maintain adequate personal hygiene and environmental sanitation at all times as part of prevention and control measures against the spread of the disease in the State.”
He averred that the prevention and control of the disease remains a shared responsibility of all citizens through observance of the highest possible standards of personal and community hygiene as well as environmental sanitation.
The urged residents to store house-hold refuse in sanitary refuse bags or dust bins with tight-fitting covers to avoid infestation by rats and rodents; dispose refuse properly at designated dump sites and not into the drainage system and store food items in rodent-proof containers. He added that it is by so doing that a habitable and conducive environment, and a disease-free State can be achieved.
“Members of the public are further advised to avoid contact with rats, to always cover their food and water properly, cook all their food thoroughly, as well as block all holes in the septic tanks and holes through which rats can enter the house and clear rat hideouts within the premises”, he said.
