By Ruby Rabiu, Abuja
Daily Trust (Abuja)
4 December 2007
The Federal Government has sounded an alert on Lassa fever which has claimed
many lives in the country.
Minister of State for Health, Mr. Gabriel Aduku said the spread and impact of the sickness needs to be checked to forestall crises.
He was speaking at a media sensitisation workshop for the regional conference on Lassa Fever by Lassa Fever Stakeholders Forum due to hold this week.
Aduku said although the Federal Ministry of Health had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chinese government in 2004, there was an urgent need to step up efforts in ensuring steady supply of drugs for treatment of the ailment, provision of functional laboratory services as well as the development of an effective and affordable vaccine for Lassa fever.
The minister emphasised preventive measures which includes keeping clean environment, avoiding indis-criminate bush burning and eating of rodent, the carriers of the virus.
He said that the Federal Ministry of Health had designated three federal tertiary health institutions as centres of excellence for the control and management of the disease. According to Aduku, the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State; University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Borno State; and the Federal Medical Centre Owerri, Imo State needed to be strengthened through facilities upgrade.
Chief Medical Director, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Professor Godwin Akpede disclosed that the conference is aimed at developing capacity towards containing the challenges of the epidemic in the West African sub-region.
The disease is contagious and could be spread through exposure to the urine or faeces of the rodent (rat) and infected persons.
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