Federal Government yesterday expressed its determination to stop the
spread of Lassa fever which has claimed many lives in parts of the
country since the beginning of this year. The Minister of Health, Osagie
Ehanire, told reporters in Abuja yesterday that the government had
heightened response against the current Lassa fever outbreak across the
country.
He said his ministry had the capacity to detect, assess
and respond to coronavirus and other public health threats. He said the
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had set up a “Corona Virus
Preparedness Group” and was ready to activate its incident command
system for coronavirus, “if a suspect case emerges in Nigeria.” He said
there was high-level inter-ministerial consultation towards setting up a
multi-sectoral committee to scale up surveillance and vigilance to
detect suspicious cases and ensure containment at all points.
He said the Port Health Services of the ministry was currently
implementing measures at international points of entry–airports,
seaports and land borders–to forestall importation of the coronavirus to
Nigeria. Director, Prevention and Programmes Coordination of the NCDC,
Joshua Obasanya, stressed the need for a Lassa fever vaccine to fully
tackle the epidemic in the country.