AS anxiety continued to grip the people of Ondo state over the outbreak of lassa fever and the death of no fewer than twenty people, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) weekend declared that its members are not scared of treating patients in the state.
The disease had spread to no
fewer than six council areas of the state.
Speculations were rife that
medical personnel in the state are skeptical of treating patients following the
recent upsurge in the Lassa Fever outbreak in the state.
The state had been
witnessing the upsurge in the disease in the last three years.
Ondo state is presently leading nationally in the upsurge of the disease which started in October last year.
Chairman of NMA in the state,
Dr. Wale Oke said in Akure that rather the association said it is working with
relevant agencies to curtail the spread of the disease.
Oke said “We are committed
to the fight against lassa fever in Ondo state. We are working with government
and technical partners to curb the spread of the disease.
“Our members are not scared
to attend to lassa patients. We are fully involved’.
Commending the state
government for quick intervention, Oke said government can still do more to
prevent the spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, the state health
commissioner Dr Wahab Adegbenro said that the state government was battle ready
to tackle Lassa Fever headlong as it is working assiduously to put the
situation under control
Dr Adegbenro noted that the
State has not been sleeping over the issue, as the fatality rate in the month
of January alone is alarming, hence the need for stakeholders to come together
to proffer lasting solution to the issue.
To tackle the situation
headlong, the Health Commissioner said there a serious partnership between the
State and the Treatment Center, Federal Medical Center Owo, on the treatment of
patients.
Dr Adegbenro disclosed that
the government has given FMC Beds, Personal Protective Equipments (PPE), making
arrangement for a 100KVA Generator to power the Incidence Lab, Chemistry
Analyser, Dialysis machine and some other consumables that will be ready in the
next one week.
He said lots of
sensitisation is on about Lassa Fever, which he described as a purely
environmental issue, which can be resolved through proper environmental
management, hygienic food processing procedures and stoppage of harmful habits
that aid the spread of the Lassa virus.