Ondo state government has confirmed a case of lassa fever at the owo/ose axis while two other suspected cases are under investigation.
the state commissioner for health, Dr Dayo Adeyanju who gave the confirmation in Akure however assured that the surveillance and containment machinery of government have been stepped up to prevent a spread of the disease.
following the reported cases of lassa fever in delta, Anambra and Edo states which coincidentally shares border with Ondo state, the state government activated its disease surveillance and notification structures with a view to detecting any case on time as well as deploy as appropriate containment measures.
this strategy according to the health commissioner, Dr Adeyanju has paid off which is why the confirmed case and the two suspected cases were detected on time and the patients transferred to the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo state for treatment.
the health commissioner said government has equally briefed concerned health officials, and development partners their roles in getting rid of the disease in the state as soon as possible.
he said five people who had contact with the patients are under surveillance and called for calm as appropriate measure are being taken to ensure the state is safe from lassa fever.
also speaking, the state coordinator of the world health organization, Dr Akinola Fatiregun commended the state government for its proactive disposition to disease outbreak containment and commitment the well being of the people.
Dr Fatiregun promised the partnership of the world health organization to containing lassa fever in the state.
Earlier, the health commissioner presided over a meeting of senior health officials, and development partners which deliberated on the lassa fever case as well as supervised the distribution of more Information Education Communication (IEC) Materials on Lassa Fever to health centers across the state.
