Lassa fever: Senate reacts to outbreak in Nigeria

The Nigerian Senate during its plenary session on Thursday discussed the continuous outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria.

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, while addressing the issue said that the failure of the Senate to look into the matter makes the lawmakers look like they were giving up on their responsibilities.

He urged the committees of Health, Primary Health Care and Communicable Diseases to look into the outbreak of Lassa fever and how it can be stopped permanently.

Ekweremadu said: “Not being able to do this is us abdicating from our responsibility. The committee that is responsible must look into this. We need to have sufficient health facilities to prevent our people from traveling abroad.”

The Senate also urged the federal government through the Ministry of Health to urgently provide the centre necessary equipment to enable it meet its responsibilities to Nigerians seeking medical care at the centre.

Meanwhile, the minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, had said the increasing number of health workers infected with Lassa fever is due to their refusal to take necessary precaution while treating patients.

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