TO curb the rate of Lassa fever spread in Nigeria, the Federal Government has convened an emergency national council on health meeting.

The meeting scheduled for today (Monday) is to primarily discuss the ongoing Lassa fever outbreak in the country and develop a national strategy to manage it and avoid future outbreak.
A statement from the Ministry of Health said the meeting would witness the inauguration of the National Lassa Fever Action Committee.

All state health commissioners and chief medical directors and managing directors of tertiary health facilities in the country were invited to the meeting.

Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, recently said the failure of the notification system made it impossible for the ministry to respond promptly to the situation in Niger State, reiterating that the Federal Government’s mission and mandate in the health sector was to keep every Nigerian safe.

Adewole, who also urged the public to avoid contact with rodents/rats as well as food/objects contaminated with rats’ secretions/excretions, said: “Avoid drying food in the open and along the roadside. It is also important to cover all food to prevent rodents’ contamination, and all suspected cases should be reported immediately to enable early treatment.”

The minister, therefore, reassured that there was no person-to-person or hospital acquired infection recorded except the case in Plateau State. This, he said, was good news.

He said the ministry would support all states and local councils in the training of health workers in the affected states, adding that there was need for further investigation of all the reported cases. He also advised that patients with high fever should not be allowed to leave their states.

The ministry, which confirmed the death of one Lassa fever victim at the National Hospital, Abuja, called on health workers at all levels to be more vigilant and look out for patients with symptoms of Lassa fever.