By Kemi Olatunde

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To reduce the incidence of Lassa fever in Ondo state, the Federal Ministry of Environment and Environmental Council of Nigeria have organized a one-day training for environmental health officers in the affected five  local government areas.

The Deputy Registrar, Environmental Council of Nigeria, Dr Yisa Adamu while speaking during the exercise in Akure on Thursday, noted that the Federal Ministry of Health selected six states in all the geopolitical zones and Ondo State was selected in the southwest for the intervention.

He described the roles of environmental health officers as indispensable in the fight against the fever in households and communities, noting that Lassa fever is native to Nigeria.

His words: “Lassa fever originated in Nigeria in 1960 and some states in the country have continued to suffer from it and Ondo happens to be one of the states.

“The main precursor of this disease is poor environmental sanitation, poor personal hygiene, and poor attitude in terms of poor preservation of food.

Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Health, Dr Adeniran Ikuomola appreciated the Federal Ministry of Health and the Environmental Council of Nigeria for the intervention in fighting the scourge of the disease in the state.

He explained that the state government had activated the Emergency Operation Centre for Lassa Fever and other Epidemic diseases in the state since last year to reduce the incidence.

He noted that the government has continued to collaborate with different government agencies and partners to reduce the mortality rate of the disease, adding that the action has continued to yield fruitful results saying “the cases and mortality rate have  reduced drastically as against last season.”

He enjoined the participants to pay attention to the training to be able to bring to bear their knowledge in the certification exercise in their different Local Government.

He urged them to step down the training appropriately to the environmental health officers not privileged to attend the training and also mobilize the communities to take ownership of the deritization programme.

The Registrar and the Deputy Provost (Administration) at the College of Health Technology, Dr (Mrs) Mary Abiodun-Fowowe noted in their messages that the environment sanitation  is a key component in disease control, and the training would go a long way to help them in learning new ways of using technology in disease control.

The permanent Secretary flagged off the Rodenticide application symbolically in the premises of the Akure South Local Government Secretariat .