Lassa fever: NGO wants FG to intensify awareness campaign

Caring Heart Foundation, a non-governmental organisation , on Wednesday advised the Federal Government to intensify awareness campaign on Lassa fever.

Mrs Temitope Awe, Executive Director of the foundation, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo.

She decried the low awareness campaign on the disease by the Centre for Disease Control, adding that this would not assist in curbing it.

Awe said that the fever has the potency to spread faster than expected due to the available numbers of its carriers and constant human migration.

The director explained that virtually all the houses in the country accommodate rat in one way or the other, the animal which remains the only carrier of the disease.

``There is an urgent need on the part of the appropriate authority in the health sector to intensify awareness campaign in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria to keep the consciousness of the citizens alive against the disease.

``The animal, which is the major carrier of the disease is present in virtually every home and many offices across the country, the situation that makes the situation pretty dicey.

``The daily migration of people from the North-East due to insurgency, where there is high presence of the major carrier is also a major concern.

``The people must be aware of these facts and properly educated about the need to maintain high level of hygiene in their daily life as a form of preventive measures,’’ Awe said. (NAN)