Nigeria: Ondo state distributes rat poison to eliminate Lasa fever

To check the spread of the Lassa Fever in Nigeria over 10,000 rat poisons have been distributed to the residents in Akure North's Ogbese, by the Ondo State Government, according to a report by Vanguard.

Over 3000 rats were reportedly killed after the poison was distributed to the resident in the Owo town.

The Lassa Fever had spread in five local areas of the state government as per the report. As said by Dolani Gbelela, the Assistant State Epidemiologist, the state has become the epicenter of the disease in Nigeria.

In 2020 the country recorded over 423 cases of Lassa fever out of which around 81 died causing 34 % of deaths from the fever, said Gbelela.

Gbelela notified that the fever was a burden to the state and mentioned that necessary measures had been put in place to eliminate the scourge. The disease mostly affected the age group between 21 to 30 years, he added.

While the disease has reportedly killed many people in Ose local government since it was first discovered, said Jjibayo Adeyeye, the state Commissioner for Health.

Urging the residents to play their part, Adeyeye cautioned the residents to practice possible ways to get rid of rats. Oladimeji Abitogun, the High Chief of Odopetu of Ogbese further added that the disease must get proper attention since the country is amidst a pandemic already.