29 million Nigerians risk Lassa fever –FG

The Federal Government has said that 29 million Nigerians are at the risk of Lassa fever, while 26 states are exposed to the disease.

The government also said the recent outbreak of the disease in the country was a signal that it had not received the expected attention.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan, spoke on Friday in Abuja during a press briefing to coincide with the National Lassa Fever Day and public presentation of 5,000 safeguard soaps to the ministry by Procter & Gamble, Nigeria.

Alhassan said in 2012 alone, the country recorded 1,944 cases with 207 deaths, adding that the majority of the deaths occurred among the health care providers.

He, however, stressed the need for health workers to be protected while treating Lassa fever patients.

The minister stated that protecting the health workers would go a long way in the campaign to halt the communicable disease.

The Managing Director, P & G Nigeria, Mr. George Nassar, represented by the company’s Government Relation Director (Sub-Saharan Africa), Ms. Temitope Iluyemi, said the donation was meant to support the Federal Ministry of Health and hygiene campaign through hand washing aimed at curbing the transmission of communicable diseases.

She said, “It is also a demonstration of our commitment to improving the lives of people in Nigeria and the world in general and elevate the health standards in Nigeria in line with our company’s global social responsibility principles. The import and timeliness of the hand washing campaign cannot be overemphasised, especially with the country’s recent experience in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease.”

Iluyemi added that the Ebola incident “is a strong reminder of the need for improved consciousness of personal hygiene.”

She said, “We should not relax our personal hygiene consciousness based on our success over EVD as this success does not make the country immune to re-introduction of the disease. There is also the need to sustain this consciousness for the prevention of other communicable diseases and maintain a healthy and vibrant populace of Nigerians.”