As part of the efforts to eradicate completely Lassa fever virus currently in the country, the federal government has said that it will establish 14 Lassa fever diagnostic centres across the country within the next three months.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who dropped the hint Tuesday during the emergency National Council on Health meeting in Abuja, said the development is to make diagnosis and treatment of the virus closer to the people.
He said contrary to popular belief that the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua Edo State is the only diagnostic centre for Lassa fever in the country, there are actually five others and they include Lagos State University Teaching Hospital(LUTH), University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital(AKTH). He said the government will establish additional centres in Niger, Bauchi, Taraba, Nasarawa, Plateau, Ondo, Ebonyi and the FCT to make it a total of 14 centres in the country.
The minister said it was also not acceptable for people to travel for so many hours in bad vehicles and bad roads from different parts of the country to Irrua in Edo State just to access treatment saying people can now access treatment in many hospitals in the country.
He called on state governments to strengthen their support for public hospitals saying 17 states have so far been affected by the disease.
High point of the event was the inauguration of the Lassa Fever Eradication Committee. The committee is headed by Professor Oyewale Tomori.
Other members include: Prof. Aminu Nasisdi of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, Prof. George Akpede, Prof. Sunday Omilabu, Prof. C. Ejembi and Prof. Z. Ilyasu, among others.
Prof. Aminu Nasisdi of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control said there was need to enhance surveillance on the Avian influenza informing that so far more than 10 States are at risk of the disease. He also called on states in the North-West to enhance support against meningitis.
Earlier, Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital J.A.F Momoh advised medical personnel especially those working in private hospitals to make early referral of Lassa fever patients to appropriate hospitals citing the case of the patient that died of the disease in Abuja as a result of late referral.
Source: Today Ng New
ABUJA: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED
PORTHARCOURT: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED
LAGOS: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED
STOP paying for airtime and electricity, Let your phone pay its bills with ScreenT
You may also like
Comrade Lemii Christian Emerges Chairman of NANNM Rivers State Branch in Historic Victory
PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA Following the long awaited National Association of N…
FG Supports Robotic Surgery Expansion to Reduce Medical Tourism
Nigeria is taking another step toward strengthening specialised healthcare …
Complete Knee Replacement Rehabilitation Package in Lagos
Knee replacement surgery is a major step toward pain relief and improved mo…
NAMDA threatens strike over unpaid medical lecturers’ allowances
The Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) has warned…
Resident Doctors Signal End to Strike Threat After High-Level Talks with Gbajabiamila
The threat of a nationwide indefinite strike by the Nigerian Association of…
