On the heels of concern about the imminent spread of Lassa Fever in Edo State, the state government has charged the populace not to panic but be vigilant and report any suspected case of prolonged fever, emphasizing that testing and treatment for Lassa Fever is free.
Making the call was Dr. Ojeifo Stephenson, the Director of Public Health in the state Ministry of Health, while reacting to some media reports accusing the state government of negligence. He affirmed that outside checking the spread of the of the deadly outbreak the state government is also eradicating the source of the spread(rats).
He asserted that the state government is not taking the issue lightly thus it’s making funds readily available to finance his ministry as it tackles the spread of the Lassa Fever scourge.
“The state government have gone further to ensure that any suspected case of Lassa Fever sample is collected immediately and transported to the testing centre which is Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital(ISTH), Irrua, in Edo Central and University of Benin Teaching Hospital(UBTH) in Edo South. These are effectively being done,” he affirmed.
According to him, Etsako West, Esan North-East and Esan West are the three hotspot local government areas. He noted that the state government has put measures in place to halt the spread of Lassa Fever in these aforementioned local government areas with the help of a very efficient surveillance team.
Dr. Stephenson warned that any clinician or private hospital caught managing a Lassa Fever patient instead of referring the patient to Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, the only accredited health facility to handle such case will be closed down.
