Enugu state sends surveillance officers to boundary with Anambra

Enugu State Government has posted surveillance and health focal-point officers to communities within its boundary with Anambra to pro-actively check the spread of Lassa fever, an official has said.

Dr Okechukwu Ossai, the state Chief Surveillance Officer, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Monday.

Ossai said that since last week when the outbreak of the disease and deaths were confirmed in Anambra, the Ministry of Health’s surveillance team had been put on alert.

NAN reports that the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, had on Friday confirmed the death of a doctor and two others from Lassa fever in Anambra.

"The ministry is not leaving anything to chance since there is high daily mobility of residents of our state to Anambra and vice versa and we share a near seamless boundary with Anambra.

"We have been working hard since last week on re-training, case definition and diagnosis of Lassa fever with the council and community health surveillance officers of the ministry.

"We have also deployed our health focal-point persons and communicators to the boundary communities.

"We have taken vital positions and preparation without being loud about it in order not to raise public panic or unnecessary alarm or rumour,’’ Ossai said.

He said that the ministry would send its health communicators to communities within the state boundary with Anambra to educate people on the disease and channel of reporting any suspected case or person.

Ossai said that the ministry had also stocked protective gears to be distributed to the local government areas as well as surveillance and health focal-point officers to avoid repeat of incident at NAUTH.

NAN reports that Enugu, which shares boundaries with Anambra in the West, has Ezeagu, Oji River and Uzo Uwani local government areas within the zone.