THE Kwara State government has put in place measures to prevent and bring under control the outbreak of deadly Lassa Fever, which has been reported in parts of Oyo and Niger states that share boundary with it.

Kwara, now with about 2,000,000 population shares boundary with Oyo at Asa Council, just as it shares boundary with Niger by Moro, Edu, Kiama and Patigi councils.

Already, all the government owned hospitals from primary to secondary levels have been put on red alert to report directly to the state Ministry of Health "any slightest case" presenting itself as Lassa fever.

According to the Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Mahmoud Ajeigbe, in a chat with The Guardian in Ilorin yesterday, the state government had at the breakout of the contagious viral disease in some parts of the country set up a committee on it.

In the same vein, the Chief Medical Director of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, (UITH) Prof. Abdulwaheed Olatinwo said that the hospital, reacting to Federal Government directive had put in place isolation centre for the management of patients diagnosed with the disease.

Ajeigbe who said no reported case of the outbreak of the disease had been seen in Kwara disclosed that the state government was covertly working on modalities to prevent the outbreak in the state, just as he urged the people of the state to maintain a high hygiene etiquette and not panic about it.

He said: "Hot and direct telephone lines" of the state's ministry of health had since been given to all the health care centres, warning members of the public against harbouring persons manifesting symptoms of the disease.

"But the good news for now is that the disease is not in Kwara and we pray it does not get here."