No case of Lassa fever in Oyo – commissioner

There is no recorded case of Lassa fever in Oyo State, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Bashir Bello, has said.

The commissioner, who addressed newsmen on the Lassa fever outbreak in some parts of country on Thursday in Ibadan, however, urged residents to imbibe good hygienic practices.

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Bello gave an assurance that the state was prepared to handle any outbreak of the disease.

“We are prepared to cope with the situation if at all Lassa fever is detected in any part of the state.

“We are on red alert to take proactive measure to save lives in the state.

” Government is creating awareness and public enlightenment across the state, we urge every resident of the state to refrain from poor personal and domestic hygiene.

“Let us ensure that our food packages are covered always and those that eat rats should abstain.

“Our fathers and mothers in the villages and farms should abstain from harmful and dirty food processing practices such as sun-drying of cassava, yam flour and other farm products on the roads which can probably lead to their contamination by rat droppings.

“We should also have attitudinal change on how we dispose waste and refuse so that it won’t attract rats to our environment, ” he said.

Bello disclosed that all government hospitals in the state had been put on red alert with isolated wards to accommodate Lassa fever patients if discovered.

He urged residents to call 08033849703 to report any suspected cases of Lassa fever for prompt and responsive action.