Ebonyi State Government has declared a state of emergency on Lassa Fever, as the disease has claimed three lives from five confirmed cases recorded, while 49 suspected cases were successfully treated.
The Secretary to the State Government, Professor Bernard Odo, who disclosed this yesterday in Abakaliki, said measures have been put in place to checkmate its spread, especially in the rural areas of the state. Meanwhile, an indigene of the state, Dr. Ogboji Aaron, was last month reportedly killed by the disease while performing his one year mandatory National Youth Service Corps in Kaduna State.
Professor Odo said the state government would, within weeks, stop the spread of the disease with intensive media campaigns, public enlightenment and immediate treatment of every suspected case. He stated that the state government had begun immediate construction of a diagnostic centre, which would be completed within three weeks and that relevant drugs, equipment and personnel for the centre would be put in place.
Odo said: “Before now, samples were taken to Edo State for tests, but the state governor has directed that we build a centre here at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, FETHA, and work has already started on the building. “ In fact work is going on there day and night and it should be ready in three weeks time.”
-Vanguard