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.
