Lassa fever: Borno government takes precautionary measures

Lassa fever: Borno government takes precautionary measures

The Borno State government on Tuesday said it had taken precautionary measures to prevent the spread of Lassa Fever into the state. The state's Commissioner for Health, Dr Haruna Mishelia, stated this at a news conference in Maiduguri.

He explained that part of the measures was total surveillance on Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the state in order to promptly detect any case.

Mishelia said the state government had also placed health institutions in the state on alert to prevent the spread of the virus and had started enlightenment campaigns across the state to educate the people on the dangers of the disease.

The commissioner added that community health workers had also been trained on how to handle suspected cases of the disease to prevent spread.

He noted that the measures followed the recent discovery of the disease in the neighbouring states of Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba, where a number of people had tested positive to the virus.

He said, "Available record shows that Borno is yet to record any case of the disease.

"But we must take precautionary measures to prevent its spread into the state.''

Mishelia said that the Women and Children Hospital in Ruwan-Zafi, Maiduguri, had been assigned to take care of all suspected cases.

He advised residents to avoid exposing food items to rats and other rodents, as well as ensure proper personal hygiene.

The disease was first discovered in Lassa in Southern Borno in the 1950's by the missionaries before it was spread to other parts of the country
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