Lassa Fever: RSG Flags Off ‘Operation Kill All Rats’ …Places One Under Observation …Monitors 250 Others

The Rivers State Government has launched the  “Operation Kill All Rats’ to check the rising incidence of Lassa Fever in the state.
The Commissioner for Environment, Prof Roseline Konya, who said this in a press briefing in her office in Port Harcourt, also said that this will check the spread of the Lassa Fever virus.
She said that apart from Lassa Fever, rat is also a vector for other diseases such as urine typhoid, Eboni Plague Fever and others, adding that to check the spread of these diseases, rats must be removed from our environment.
Konya said that caretaker committee chairmen of the 23 local government councils have been directed to enforce the ‘Operation Kill All Rats’ campaign in their respective areas.
According to her, the council chairmen have been charged to ensure that all communities are kept clean, while refuse dumpsite are cleared and fumigated to ensure that there are no more breeding grounds for rats and other vectors.
She also urged residents of the state to keep their surrounding clean, by clearing all bushes around their homes, while all holes and crevics in individual houses should be properly covered to ensure no hiding place for rats.
The commissioner, who warned against further consumption of rats, also said that people must no longer use bare-hands to remove dead rats, while food must be properly covered by households across the state.
Konya said that the ministry would ensure regular fumigation of the environment, while refuse contractors will be  made to ensure prompt and immediate evacuation and disposal of refuse in the state.
She also said that environmental health officers will be dispatched to markets every Thursday to ensure proper disposal of refuse and called for regular hand washing and use of sanitizers by the people.
Meanwhile, the Rivers Commissioner for Health, Dr Theophilus Odagme, said yesterday that daughter of a Lassa Fever victim had been taken into a temporary holding centre for close observation.
Odagme told newsmen in Port Harcourt that the middle aged girl was close to one of the three victims affected by the ravaging fever.
“We have kept her at a one of the three temporary holding centres for close observation. Samples has been taken from her and we are still waiting for the results of the test.
“For now, she cannot be said to have come down with lassa fever, until the result of the test is out. But, we have kept her on close observation and monitoring,’’ he said.
The commissioner noted that field officers from the state Ministry of Health were monitoring 250 contacts to ascertain their status.
“Our contact-tracing team has been monitoring 250 persons by checking their temperatures or symptoms suggestive of the fever. But right now, none of them is positive.
“ We will continue to monitor and observe them for 21 days in order to ensure that there is no trace of the disease in them,’’ he said.
Odagme also said that government was renovating the main treatment centre at Odohia, in Emohua LG, used to attend to Ebola patients two years ago.
“The centre is not in good shape. Renovation is on going there as we speak. We set up three temporary centres to treat the few cases we have,’’ he said.
However, as part of measures to check the menace of Lassa Fever in the state, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr Austin Tam- George says sensitization campaign are now targeted  on restaurants and markets.
Speaking with newsmen in Government House, Port Harcourt, Dr. Tam-George regretted the death of medical doctor last week from the disease but assured that government was not resting on its oars to  put the virus in check.
He stated that his ministry and that of health were working in collaboration to raise awareness of residents on the virus, “ We have gone out to tell people exactly what they should do. They should avoid the presence of rats in their neighborhoods, cover the food they eat. Anywhere they suspect that the food may have been tampered by rats they should avoid such food completely. They should make sure they cook their food very well. If there are fruits or foods half eaten by rat, they should throw them away,” he said.
Maintained that the Ministry of Information and Communications will continue to raise awareness, noting that the death of the medical doctor underscores the need to fight the virus.
Recall that  early this month, Lassa Fever claimed the lives of a mother and her two weeks old baby in Tai Local Government. Area.
The death of a medical doctor last week at the Braithwaite Special Memorial Hospital in Port Harcourt swelled the death toll from the deadly virus to three
Meanwhile, the commissioner has described the visit of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God Pastor Enoch Adeboye to Governor Nyesom Wike as an affirmation of the administration vision make God its source of power.
The commissioner explained that since assuming office, Governor Wike has made God the pillar of his administration, stressing that the administration constantly believes that whatever it does must have the approval of God.
Tam George further remarked, “as Christians, we may be engaged in administration but we put Christian values first, and these Christian values are traceable to the Bible. That is why we put God first in all things we do. This is a God fearing administration.”
He described Adeboye as a highly respected man of God who leads a large church with huge membership in Rivers State.
The commissioner assured that the Wike administration will do all it can to collaborate with the church for effective governance in the state.

Former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt Hon Austin Opara (left), in a handshake with the state Commissioner for Sport, Hon Boma Iyaye (right) and President of Go Round FC, Felix Obuah, during the unveiling ceremony of the Mascot for Secondary School Athletics Championship in Port Harcourt, yesterday.