Date: 2019-03-28

THE students of Kwara State University, Malete, on Wednesday sensitised the people of Idofian, a rural community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara on the spread and inherent dangers of Lassa fever.

The students are of the Top Up/HND Conversation Programme in the Department of Mass Communication.

Lassa fever, a viral haemorrhagic fever with symptoms similar to those of Ebola virus disease, is endemic in much of West Africa and usually sparks a seasonal outbreak from December to March.

Humans usually become infected with Lassa virus from exposure to urine and faeces of infected Mastomys rats.

Lassa virus may also be spread between humans through direct contact with the blood, urine, faeces, or other bodily secretions of a person infected with Lassa fever.

Lassa mammarenavirus is an emerging virus and a select agent, requiring Biosafety Level 4-equivalent containment.

The number of Lassa virus infections per year in West Africa is estimated at 100,000 to 300,000, yearly with approximately 5,000 deaths.

Mrs Modupola Ige, a health practitioner, explained that Lassa fever was a type of hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates caused by a virus from rodents with eight breasts.

She warned the people against allowing rats to have access to their food stuff to avoid being infected.

According to her, residents of rural areas must be worried of drying their food on the floor, roadside or open space to avoid contamination.

"There is a need to improve on your personal hygiene as a way of preventing the spread of the disease.

"Rats are the cause of the fever and it takes six to 21 days to show symptoms if one is infected," she added.

The health practitioner, who identified the symptoms to be fever, cough, vomiting, headache and body pain among others, advised the people to contact health centre if any of the symptoms was observed.

Earlier, their leader, Malam Usman Aliyu, said that the campaign was organised to raise awareness on the scourge of the disease particularly in rural areas, which are the most vulnerable.

"Therefore, this group is particularly worried about the recent confirmation of two cases of the disease in Kwara where husband and wife were infected.

"This couple were said to be natives of Benin Republic, which shares a border with the state, but we're farming in a farm settlement in Taberu village, in the Baruten Local Government Area of the state," he said.

Aliyu, who said that the disease was traced to a village called Lassa in Borno, in 1969, noted that about 5,000 people died of it yearly.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the students also staged a drama to further enlighten the residents of the community on the illness.