Osogbo: Dr Adediran Adewale, President of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at UniOsun Teaching Hospital, has called on residents to maintain clean surroundings to ward off rats, the primary carriers of Lassa fever.
Adewale shared this advice during an interview with reporters in Osogbo on Tuesday.
He explained that Lassa fever is spread by the multimammate rat, which is hard to identify once a home is infested.
“Lassa fever is a deadly disease, and it has claimed far too many lives. Sadly, even the best graduating student in my set died of the disease about three years ago in Ibadan.
“My advice to my colleagues and the general public is to remain vigilant. We must keep our surroundings clean by regularly disposing of waste. “Since we often can’t tell which rat carries the virus, we must protect ourselves by keeping our environment clean.” This reduces the risk of Lassa fever.”
“When it comes to rats, we often cannot tell which one carries the virus, so we must protect ourselves by maintaining a clean environment.”
He advised citizens to always keep food covered, store grains and foodstuffs in rodent-proof containers, clean up food remains promptly, and immediately report any signs of rat droppings to the appropriate authorities.
Adewale described as unfortunate the death of Dr Salome Oboyi of Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, who contracted Lassa fever while caring for a patient.
He expressed sympathy for her family and urged colleagues to prioritise their own safety when treating Lassa fever patients.
