Reps to meet minister over resurgence of lassa fever

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

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

Ogun said 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 Virus Disease.

“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),” the lawmaker said.

“We are also aware of a report published on Monday, January 16, 2017 by the Technical Assistant on Communication for 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.”

NAN