Ekiti creates special centre for suspected Lassa fever cases

• Govs plan to halt further spread of ailment in states
• Osun places health institutions, workers on alert
• Oyo to partner with UCH, NMA to prevent disease

Following the outbreak of Lassa fever in some parts of the country, the Ekiti State government has established a special centre where those diagnosed with the ailment would be treated.

The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, who gave the hint yesterday in Ado-Ekiti at the flag-off of a yellow fever vaccination programme, said Governor Kayode Fayemi had directed that proactive action be taken in view of the recorded cases in the neighbouring Ondo State.

“Fayemi has placed all the health officers in Ekiti State on alert and we have designated one of our facilities for the special purpose of receiving any suspected case for immediate treatment.

“It has affected Ondo State, our neighbour, and we need to be on alert because of the proximity. It is also spreading in Kano.

Meanwhile, governors, under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), said they were taking precautionary measures to halt further spread of Lassa fiver across states of the federation.

NGF Chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Fayemi, said this while addressing newsmen after the forum’s monthly meeting in Abuja.

Fayemi said: “On the epidemic that has happened in Ondo in the South-West and Kano in the North, I believe all our states are taking precautionary measures to address this in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).”

Meanwhile, Osun State government has placed its health institutions and workers on alert.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr. Olasiji Olamiju, disclosed this in Osogbo.

Olamiju said these necessary measures would curtail the spread of the viral infection in the state.

Also, in a bid to prevent the incidence of Lassa fever in the state, the Oyo State Government yesterday said that it had placed medical officials across all the local councils in the state on alert to handle any suspected case.

The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bashir Bello, who stated this while addressing newsmen at the Film Theatre of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, said that partnership is being worked on with the ministry, the University College Hospital (UCH) and members of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) to ensure that the fever did not spread to the state.