Health Minister says Lassa Fever Epidemic is not Failure

To as many health practitioners in the country, who are conceiving the dreaded Lassa fever outbreak as a sign of failure on their part, the health minister, Dr. Isaac Adewole has urged them to have a rethink, saying health workers are not to blame for the epidemic.

Professor Adewole, who spoke on Monday during a telephone interview on Sunrise Daily, said that some states could not report the outbreak because they considered it to be a sign of failure, which ought not to be.

He commended the courage of the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, who vehemently resisted the false appearance his people were initially displaying as regards the status of the virus in the state, while requesting a proposal for active case fight and prevention across the state.

He revealed that health authorities had uncovered five cases which were not reported in Ebonyi State and warned against a recurrence of such.

“I think at professional level, people must just admit that an outbreak should not be considered as a fault in the system but as something to be reported and actively to be presented,” he said.

“We have also dispatched drugs to the state and we are reactivating all our treatment and diagnostic centres in a bid to ensure that we are able to make diagnosis promptly.

“We are also sending teams all over the states to ensure that we uncover cases that hitherto, were not reported.”