Reps to meet with minister over resurgence of Lassa fever

chika ebuzor

March 21, 2017 8:48 PM

The motion was unanimously adopted by members when put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara.

Prof. Isaac Adewole

The House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to meet the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, ‎over recent resurgence of Lassa fever in parts of the country.

The resolution followed a motion by Rep. Sergius Ogun (Edo-PDP) on the need to investigate the resurgence of the fever in Nigeria.

Ogun explained that one of the important areas of focus for any government was the health sector.

This, according to him, is because of its importance to citizens and the dangers that disease and ill-health pose to the safety and security of the populace.

He expressed concern that in recent times, one of the virulent forms of fever plaguing the nation was Lassa, similar to the Ebola fever.

“We are aware that the first case of Lassa fever reported in Nigeria was in 2015 and between August, 2015 and May, 2016, 273 cases, including 149 deaths were recorded by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“We are also aware of a report published on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017 by the Technical Assistant on Communication of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, urging Nigerians to be at alert.

“This is because Lassa fever is on the rise again with 19 cases and five deaths reported between 2016 and 2017 in seven states,’’ he said.

Ogun emphasised the need for the Federal Government to address the resurgence of the fever by coming up with a sustainable plan for the eradication of the scourge in Nigeria.

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The House, therefore, mandated a joint committee on Health Institutions and Healthcare Services to find out from the minister the steps taken to tackle the fever.

The joint committee is to also meet with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) on the matter and report back in six weeks.

chika ebuzor