Ogun, Delta allay fear, urge personal hygiene, clean environmentONE patient has been confirmed dead of Lassa fever at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua in Edo State just as one is said to be on the danger list.Sources at the hospital said Lassa victims have always been brought to the hospital since it is a Lassa Fever Centre and have been operating the centre.The Commissioner for Health in Edo State, Dr. Heregie Aihanuwa, who confirmed that one person has been lost, added that doctors at the Irrua Specialist Hospital in the state were battling to savethe life of another who was also diagnosed of the disease.She said that the dead person was amongthe five persons that were brought to the hospital for showing symptoms of the Lassa fever disease.Meanwhile, the Ogun State government yesterday alerted its citizens on the symptoms of virus, as measures to curtailthe spread of the disease across the 20 local councils of the state have been intensified.The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye, who spoke with journalists in Abeokuta, said that to prevent the disease from spreading, people should imbibe personal hygiene and clean environment.Ipaye said the state would do everything within its power to guard against the spread of the disease from neighbouring states. He, therefore, called on members of the public to promptly report cases of any unusual symptoms such as bleeding from the nose and other parts of the body, muscle pain, chest pain and low blood pressure to the State Ministry of Health or the nearest General Hospital forquick treatment.He added that the state would soon take delivery of anti-viral drugs that have the potential to save lives and prevent the spread of the disease.In another development, Delta State government yesterday assured the peoplenot to panic over the dreaded Lassa feveras measures have been put in place to prevent the disease from spreading to thestate from neighbouring Edo and Rivers states where there were reported cases recently.The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nicholas Azinge, told reporters yesterday in Asaba that a special team has been setup to maintain constant patrol in the seven local councils bordering Edo and Rivers states.He allayed the fears of Deltans, saying that the state government was on red alert to ensure that the disease does not find its way into the state.The commissioner, who said that enlightenment campaign had been intensified to inform residents about the disease, added that surveillance of the border local councils of the state would be constant to nip any case in the bud
