COORDINATOR of Oyo State Infectious Disease Centre, Professor Temitope Alonge, says the state government is prepared to tackle cases of Lassa fever and ensure adequate care any time there is an outbreak.
Alonge, speaking on the state preparedness for spikes in cases of Lassa fever in Nigeria, said the redesigned Oyo State Infectious Disease Centre, Olodo, now has a new unit with 12 beds designated for admission and care of Lassa fever cases.
According to him, “Lassa fever is more dangerous than COVID-19; and when it comes to its management, the precautions health professionals need to take is far more than that for COVID-19.
“At Oyo State Infectious Disease Centre Olodo, now one section has been dedicated to Lassa fever. It is the same design as the holding bay for Ebola fever at University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan. There are 2 chlorine pits before the Lassa fever enclave, and a chlorine shower to be used before taking off the personal protective equipment (PPE).
“For coronavirus, you don’t need a chlorine pit to enter the coronavirus enclave, but for Lassa fever and cholera, you must have a chlorine pit.”
Alonge, also a former Chief Medical Director of University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, declared that the state’s preparedness for the epidemic includes its ICU with ventilators and other medical equipment and a functional dialysis unit because viral disease sometimes can destroy the kidney.
He declared that individuals with Lassa fever, an infectious viral haemorrhagic fever in the same family of Ebola virus disease, may have symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain and weakness and later bleeding from body opening and into organs in the body like the liver and the brain.
Professor Alonge said that Oyo State falls into the Lassa fever belt because some parts of Oke Ogun in Oyo State fall into savannah vegetation and Lassa fever is very common in the savannah region. In addition, there is the possibility of cross-border infections from neighbouring countries and states.
“Even when I was the CMD at UCH, Ibadan, we had the highest incidence of Lassa fever from November to February. Oke Ogun has the largest concentration of Lassa fever, that is where they have a lot of these multimammate rats, and they are next door to Burkina Faso and Benin republic, so the possibility of a cross border infection.”
