Ogun declares state free of Lassa fever

The Commissioner for Health in Ogun, Dr Babatunde Ipaye, has declared the state free of Lassa fever following a recent expression of fear at a patient showing signs of the fever. The commissioner made this known in a statement he issued in Abeokuta on Sunday. He said that the government immediately swung into action to make sure that the patient, who complained of symptoms related to the fever was treated accordingly. “Being a proactive government, we don’t want to take chances, so we monitored with series of test carried out on the victim. “We have activated our disease surveillance and notification structures with a view to detecting any case on time as well as deploying appropriate measures to prevent and control the spread of the disease,” he said. He, however, assured that the patient had been certified free according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, hence the state was declared free of lassa fever. Ipaye said that all the state’s 20 Local Government Areas and the 37 Local Government Development Council Areas (LCDAs) had been put on red alert. “All borders entering the state are well covered by surveillance officers of the ministry to monitor movement in and around the state,” he said. The commissioner called on citizens of the state not to panic, just as he advised them to maintain high profile hygiene by keeping rodents out of the house and to keep all food items well covered. He urged the public to watch out for symptoms of malaria fever that had resisted normal malaria drugs treatment, “particularly during this festive period, when movement is high.” Such cases that had resisted malaria treatment for at least three days, he said, should be reported at the nearest General Hospital. Residents were also advised to call the “Lassa Fever Hot Lines” on 09099140121 and 09099140122. (NAN)

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