Enugu State Government has advised residents to embrace cleanliness to halt the spread of yellow fever in the state.
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Dr George Ugwu, Executive Secretary of Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency, gave the advice in Enugu on Sunday when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
“The state government places lots of emphasis on cleanliness as a preventive measure and not as a curative measure,’’ he said.
Ugwu advised anyone with yellow fever symptoms to go to the nearest government health facility for immediate medical care rather than resorting to self-medication or erroneous superstitions beliefs, which could result to complications.
He urged residents not to allow stagnant water in their neighbourhoods as it is the breeding place for vector-carrying mosquitoes that transmit the disease.
“We expect residents to embrace the state government’s preventive healthcare approach by ensuring strict environmental cleanliness to stop the breeding of mosquitoes.
“Residents should ensure they put mosquito nets on their doors and windows; spray their homes with insecticides and possibly sleep under insecticide-treated nets.
“Communities and neighbourhoods should cut down overgrown grasses and open up blocked drains and waterways to allow for free flow of water. They should also fill any stagnant pool of water with sand,’’ he advised.
Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. The `yellow’ in the nomenclature refers to the yellow colouration of come patients’’ eyes.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Igboeze North, Nsukka and Isi-Uzo local government areas of Enugu State recorded 30 deaths traceable to yellow fever recently.
The state government already started massive yellow fever vaccination of about one million residents aged between nine months and 44 years in the affected areas.
Government equally fumigated the affected council areas.
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Initial symptoms of yellow fever include headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. Serious cases may cause heart, liver and kidney conditions.