Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye, says  Disease Surveillance Officers (DSOs) across the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas of the state, have been strengthen, heighten and on red alert to combat any forms of disease outbreak or epidemic in the state.

‎Ipaye made this known while fielding questions from Journalists in his office in Abeokuta, against the possible spread of Lassa fever in Ogun as it has affected its neighbouring Ondo state.

He stressed that no case of Lassa fever in Ogun, as the state government had adopted the standard of World Health Organization (WHO), in following proper standard precautions in hospitals as well as communities and educating the public on the mode of transmission of the virus, and need for proper hygiene and environmental sanitation ‎should be emphasized.

He added that all the surveillance offices across the state had been reactivated, once it has happened again in the neighbouring state, Ondo, noting that Ipokia, Oja-Odan, Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu Waterside and other surveillance offices had now been reactivated for any unforseen outbreak of diseases or epidemic.

“As am talking to you now, all our diseases notification and surveillance officers and mechanisms has been reactivated in order to curtail any spread of forms of diseases ‎in the state, so, for now no case of any Lassa fever in Ogun State”, Ipaye emphasised.

Related News

He noted that the absence of vaccine against the virus and impractical control of the rodents host caused the virus, and population, control measures are limited to keeping rodents out of homes and food supplies were among the causes of disease, noting that people should maintain proper personal hygiene and using of these rodents as food source should also be discouraged.

He maintained that their three Isolation centres created by the state in Sagamu, Iberekodo, and Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, were functioning for proper care of contacted persons in the state, saying that health care service delivery was second cardinal programme of the present administration.

He said that if any persons contacted the disease, the infected persons should be isolated and their body fluid and excrements properly disposed, noting that health care workers ‎should also take proper precautions in order to curtail nosocomical spread of disease through the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

He emphasized that enlightenment and awareness of the public in risk factors associated with spread of disease was important and preventive measures should be put in place to reduce human infection.

“Lassa fever is a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic illness caused by lassa virus and since its original discovery in 1969, Nigeria, there have been countless of various magnitude and severity across the West Africa not Nigeria alone, but due to scarce resources to diagnose the illness as well as inadequate surveillance, many cases remain unaccounted”‎, Ipaye said.