Lassa fever: FG strengthens alert system with additional seven diagnostic centres

In its bid to strengthen the surveillance and alert system of the Federal Government in combating the effects of the Lassa fever endemic, Isaac Adewole, minister of health, said more seven states would get diagnostic centres to enable them trace properly any suspected cases of the Lassa fever endemic.

The seven states, according to Adewole, will get the support of the Federal Government in establishing diagnostic centres in their states, and they include: Plateau, Ondo, Ebonyi, Niger, Bauchi, Taraba, and Nassarawa.

Currently, the Federal Government has six diagnostic centres across the country, which include: Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano, University of Maidugiri Teaching Hospital in Borno, Lagos State Teaching Hospital in Lagos, University College Hospital in Ibadan, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, and Irua Teaching Hospital in Edo, and a diagnostic centre in Asokoro, the FCT.

Adowole spoke on Tuesday at the emergency National Council on Health meeting in Abuja, while he also inaugurated the Lassa fever eradication committee, headed by Oyewale Tomori.

He noted that the ministry had also constituted inter-sectoral committees comprising of the ministry of education, agriculture, water resources, and some para-military agencies to forge alliance in tracking movement of people within and outside the country.

Meanwhile, Abdulrahman Lasidi, the project director of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), while guiding states’ commissioners of health on precautionary measures of health to take, said: “There must be de-contamination of deadly bodies to avoid further spread. The grave should also be deeper, which ensures precautionary measures are taken to avoid further spread.

“Isolation of facilities, training of manpower, surveillance and collaboration are some of the basic measures that must be taken.”