Ondo allays fears over fresh Lassa fever outbreak

Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju has given assurances about measures to check the spread of Lassa fever following discovery of three new cases in Owo and Akure North Local Councils.

The Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers (DSNOs) posted across the 18 councils of the state while giving reports, Adeyanju said Ondo allays fears over fresh Lassa fever outbreak one case was first identified in Eyin-Ogbe, Owo Local Government Councils and was confirmed at Irrua Specialist Hospital, Edo State. Two suspected cases were also identified in Ayede-Ogbese, Akure North Council Area and samples sent to the same hospital for confirmation.

The commissioner noted that the DSNOs were able to spring into action due to the proactive measures put in place by the government to sensitize the people after the recent Anambra and Delta states.

“There is active surveillance in all our councils, much more so since we learnt of the last outbreak in Anambra and Delta states.Feeling we were likely to be prone, our surveillance became much more active,” he remarked.

He said the proactive measures have yielded results because the DSNOs and the community were able to identify the symptoms easily and promptly acted. The commissioner said the confirmed case is at present receiving treatment in Irrua. The suspected cases were being placed on tab to curtail every negative eventuality.

“We need to keep tab on them and ensure that we are able to trace them to the last person so we can curtail it. At the moment there is no cause for alarm: the outbreak control team has been active, sensitisation has been ongoing, jingles and other resources are maximally exploited,” he added.