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| Lassa virus (inset) (Image source: telegraph.co.uk) |
Following the loss of 43
lives to the Lassa fever outbreak out of the 86 reported cases, some residents
in the affected states have remained indifferent. While some stated that
they have not paid attention to the development, some indicated that they were
no adequate awareness campaign to guide people against the spread of the
disease.
Vanguard
/GRAPHITTI report continues:
Rivers
In
Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, residents said they were yet to give
any serious attention to the outbreak of Lassa fever in the state because they
were trying to settle down after the Christmas and New Year holiday in the
village. “I heard of the Lassa fever stuff but I just came back from the
village. May be when I get settled for business, I will take time to look for
details on the matter”, Emenike who resides in Diobu said.
Some
also said the way the federal and state governments were going about the
outbreak had not given room for panic. “Though I have heard of Lassa
fever, the information coming out so far from government does not suggest there
is need to panic”, Johnbull, another resident of Port Harcourt said. “The
response so far by the media and government does not suggest Lassa is a thing
to worry about.”
In
Rivers State two persons have died so far since the outbreak of the disease two
weeks ago. The state government has also enjoined residents to maintain
clean environment and keep their food from rodents.
Plateau
The
Plateau State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kuden Kumshak a week ago confirmed
that a case of Lassa fever has killed one person in Mangu Local Government Area
of the state while there are suspected cases which are yet to be confirmed in
other local government areas like Jos North, Langtang South, Shendam and
Pankshin though the Chairman of Pankshin, Stephen Jings has denied the presence
of the disease in the council.
Residents
of the state especially in the affected areas are taking steps in clearing
refuse dumps to decongest them of rats’ invasion and even the State
Commissioner for Environment, Abdullahi Abbas has led a team to clear
designated refuse dump sites in Jos-Bukuru metropolis to sanitize the areas and
curb the spread of the disease.
There
are also jingles being aired in the State Television and Radio stations to
create awareness especially in rural communities and the State Government has
established Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers in the 17 local
government areas of the state to monitor and manage any further cases.
Niger
Immediately
Niger State was mentioned as one of the 10 new states infected by the Lassa
fever a few weeks ago, the state government immediately took the blood samples
of those suspected to have been infected from the three communities in Fuka
Ward of Muyan Local Government Area of the state and sent their blood samples
for laboratory test at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control in Abuja and
Lagos and people of the state have keyed into the campaign strategy of the
state government to stop the spread of the disease in the state.
The
state Commissioner of Health, Dr. Mustapha Jibril said with the step taken by
the state government, the disease has been brought under control as no
infection or death has been recorded in the state.
Bauchi
Bauchi
State is one of the states affected by the outbreak of Lassa fever in recent
weeks. From the month of January to date, four suspected cases of Lassa fever have been
recorded. However, residents in the state have stepped up their personal and
environmental hygiene in order to prevent the spread of the disease. When Saturday
Vanguard visited some parts of the state metropolis such as markets, abattoirs,
restaurants and some residential premises, the environments were now looking
clean and kept compared to its previous state.
Dirty
places such as gutters, culverts and refuse sites are cleaned up by the
cosmopolitan refuse collectors on a daily basis. Grace who is a resident
of Gwalameji, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis, said she has now resorted to
cleaning all nooks and crannies of her house to keep a healthy environment.
Kano
In Kano, Saturday Vanguard investigations
revealed that the state government is on top of the situation and there is no
new report of any case since the two earlier recorded cases. One hospital has
been designated for emergency. Drugs and all other medical consumables have
been provided by the state government. Training of health personnel have also
been carried out with the establishment of special committee for rapid
response.
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