We’ll Eradicate Lassa Fever By April, Says FG

The Federal Government has declared that by April this year, Lassa fever will “become history.”The government, which expressed optimism that the disease would be eradicated in April, also confirmed that it had placed the family that was visited by a victim in the Kubwa community of Abuja and an

 official of the Kubwa hospital, where he was treated, under surveillance.The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said this in an interview with The PUNCH in Abuja, on Wednesday.According to him, no patient would be allowed to visit the hospital where the victim had been admitted before
he was taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, because efforts were afoot to sanitise the hospital.The victim, a newly-wed 33-year-old man, lived in Jos, Plateau State, but came to see a family member in Kubwa because of his illness. He, however, died within 24 hours of being admitted into the National Hospital from the Kubwa-based hospital.The minister said, “We want to assure Nigerians that Lassa fever will soon become a thing of the past. It will become history in Nigeria. Ordinarily, Lassa fever will be eradicated from Nigeria in April. But if we do nothing, it will come back by August. So, we will make sure that we work all-year round to make sure that there is no resurgence in August.