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Akwa Ibom State Government Monday disclosed that it has recorded three suspected cases of Lassa Fever but one of them, a 53-year-old female crayfish seller, died before her test results were ready.
Dr. Dominic Ukpong, the state’s Commissioner for Health, disclosed this at the inauguration of the state task force on the eradication of Lassa Fever, adding that one of the suspected cases absconded, while the second case happened to be someone who has been undergoing treatment for HIV.
Dr. Ukpong said: “The situation is that Akwa Ibom is no longer free and that since rat meat is not a delicacy in the state, I appeal to those that eat rat to please stop it. We advise that you keep cats if you can, because cats drive away rats.”
He charged the constituted Response Committee on Lassa Fever to ensure the state kicks out the disease.
Meanwhile, as the battle to curtail the outbreak of Lassa Fever continues in Lagos, no fewer than 7,243 rats have been killed since the outbreak of the disease in the state.
Lagos State government has also directed its environmental officers to embark on a massive sensitisation campaign across the state on the need to de-rat the state.
The programme was disclosed Monday evening at the sensitization and awareness programme on Lassa Fever outbreak, organised by the state government for environmental health workers at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja.
President of the Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria (EHOAN), Lagos State Chapter, Mr. Samuel Akingbehin, said that over 7,243 rats had been killed at eight major markets in the state under its market de-ratting programme.
Akingbehin, in an interview said that the affected markets were Onigbongbo, Oshodi, Oke-Odo, Ikotun Idanwo, Ojuwoye, Mile 12 and Alaba-Rago markets.
He noted that eradication of rats in the markets was part of the association’s efforts to curb the spread of Lassa Fever in the state since its outbreak on January 14, 2016.
