By Anita Ekpenyong
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu has assured the People of the State that there is no confirm case of lassa fever and advised people to continue to keep their surroundings tidy and clean to prevent rats and rodents from invading their homes who are the vectors of lassa fever disease.
The Health Commissioner gave the assurance during a stakeholders meeting on Emergency Preparedness held at the World Health Organization (WHO) Conference Hall at 30, Barracks road, Calabar.
Dr Edu who expressed joy at the turn out of the stakeholders at the meeting said it shows the team readiness to contain the dreaded disease which has already claimed lives in some affected States in Nigeria.
She said in response to the increasing number of lassa fever in our neighboring States Cross River State government has activated an emergency surveillance team to coordinate response activities across the State.
The Commissioner informed that the State is expecting to receive Personal Protective Equipment, consumables and supportive drugs very soon and hope to distribute them to health facilities in the State.
In a situation report, the State Epidemiologist, Mrs Inyang Ekpenyong said there are 195 confirmed cases of lassa fever around the country with 29 deaths while others are on intensive care explaining that in Cross River, there were 4 suspected cases, three have been confirmed negative while the last case is still under investigation.
She advised people to report any suspected case of lassa fever to any health facility nearest to them for prompt action. Mrs Ekpenyong listed symptoms of lassa fever to include: High temperature, soar throat, body pain, vomiting, among others.
Also speaking, the State Coordinator WHO, Dr Rilwan Raji represented by the Agency’s Focal Person, Mr Bernard Ntui stated that the organization has Surveillance Focal Persons in all the 18 Local Government Areas of the state, that they are liasing with TBA’s in the state to ensure any out break is checked.
The Chairman Medical Advisory Council (CMAC) of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Prof Ogbu Ngim said the hospital is also ready to tackle any outbreak informing that there is an isolation in the hospital, he urged the State Government to create an easy communication line among Agencies for actions when necessary.