By Sade Oguntola
Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Bode Ladipo says incidence of Lassa fever is more prominent in the dry season and urged Nigerians to be more proactive about how they store their foods, personal and environmental hygiene and seek prompt treatment for all fever cases particularly now.
Dr Ladipo, at a press conference to flag off the inaugural Lassa fever and diphtheria week in the state, said the recent rise in the spate of Lassa fever outbreak in some states across the country is linked to the environment and practices like unkempt environment and exposure of food items to contamination by rats.
According to him, although Lassa fever and diphtheria are epidemic prone diseases, pockets of Lassa fever outbreaks in some Local government areas of the state had been successfully quelled, with some fatalities recorded.
Dr Ladipo refuted the claim that the state recorded many Lassa fever cases, just as he declared that Oyo State has not recorded any case of diphtheria in recent years.
According to the Commissioner, Oyo state will continue to maintain its diphtheria-free status by ensuring that all eligible children receive routine immunization against it and other killer childhood diseases.
He declared “Oyo state spans a large geographical spread from forest to guinea savannah up North and these environments and some other practices make us vulnerable to occurrence of these diseases.
“I call on all health workers and the public alike to put necessary measures to protect themselves and families from the scourge of the diseases. It is important for everyone to have a buy-in into the state health facilities and improve their health seeking behaviours.
“Health care providers should continue to maintain a high level of service delivery and keep up with the developed policies that can militate against the spread of diseases. The responsibility for keeping Lassa fever and other diseases of public health importance away is a collective one and together we can achieve a disease free state.”
In a remark, Oyo State Coordinator, USAID Breakthrough Action Nigeria, Mrs Oluwatoyin Afachung who observed low sensitization on Lassa fever and Diphtheria, promised to embark on an aggressive media campaign against the diseases.
She stated that USAID Breakthrough Action Nigeria is also planning a town hall meeting in the Lassa fever affected local governments in the state and training teachers on how to curtail the spread of the diseases.
World Health Organization representative, Dr Phillips Zonto, said the state in tackling public health diseases needs to further strengthen its surveillance, logistic support, laboratory support, case management and risk communication, among others.
