Gov. Bala Mohammad of Bauchi State on Wednesday said that his administration would establish isolation centres in three hospitals in the state to manage persons infected with Lassa fever disease.
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Mohammed said this in Bauchi when the officials from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) paid him a courtesy visit.
“We are delighted to receive you today in the Government House to condole with us over the outbreak of Lassa fever disease that resulted in the death of a district head and others.
“We are aware of the measures taken by the NCDC to stop the spread of the disease not only in Bauchi State, but across the country and we will give you our support to achieve the set objectives.
“On our part, we are going to establish three isolation centres in three selected hospitals in the state; the essence is to manage and control the spread of Lassa fever disease in the State,” he said.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Alhaji Baba Tela, said that the state government had taken proactive measures against the spread of the disease in the state by setting up an emergency outbreak basket fund.
He commended stakeholders in the health sector for their concerted efforts in tackling the outbreak of communicable diseases in the state, adding that they were up to the task in the fight against any outbreak of diseases.
Earlier, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director General, NCDC, said the visit was to condole the government and people of the state over the death of one of the district heads and others who lost their lives as a result of contracting Lassa fever disease.
Ihekweazu, represented by Alhaji Yakubu Abdullahi, the Director, Administration and Human Resources, NCDC, said that there was the need for the state government to embark on a massive awareness campaign to prevent the spread of the disease.
“Bauchi is an endemic state as far as Lassa fever disease is concerned. We have learnt a lot with the death of a district head and we are planning to monitor his family for 21 days to assess the situation.
“From all indications, the Bauchi State Government is ready to fight the scourge of the disease, so we will support you in the establishment of the isolation centres in the state.” he said.