The Kano state government has constituted a 22- man Task Force on Lassa Fever Response to the Worried by the reported death of two persons in the state and about 39 others in 11 states across the country as a result of Lassa fever in the state, today.
Inaugurating the Task Force, the state governor Dr. AbdullahiUmar Ganduje warned that it has become necessary for the people to pay more attention to personal hygiene and environmental sanitation so as to save their lives from this deadly disease.
Advising the people not to allow rodents feed on their foods, the governor stressed the need for families to properly dispose food remnants and ensure that their kitchen utensils are kept clean always so that no more rooms for rats to hide.
Governor Ganduje also urged the people to be on the watch for symptoms of the disease and to report any suspected Lassa fever case to the nearest health facility so that quick and necessary action would be taken, He said government would place emphasis on advocacy and public enlightenment to ensure that Lassa fever no longer occurs in kano state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kabir Ibrahim Getso who disclosed that the two patients who died in the state as a result of the Lass epidemic were recorded December last year adding that the Lassa virus is carried by rats and spread to humans adding that the ailment could be spread from person to person through direct contact, adding that his ministry has designated a health facility at ‘Yargaya to handle Lassa Fever cases, 24 Hours non-stop.
The commissioner added that the state government has also set aside a hotlines to track the diseases, engaged in aggressive contact tracing of the deceased victims as well as embarked upon vigorous public enlighten campaigns through radio and other means of communication.
The illness reportedly was discovered in 1969 when two missionary nurses died in Nigeria. The virus is thus named after Lassa, a village in Borno State in the North East where the first cases occurred.
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