Chairman of Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, in Cross River State, Dr Felix Archibong, has raised the alarm over the resurgence of wastes and the resultant emergence of rats in parts of Calabar, the capital.
He adduced the resurgence of Lassa fever in the state to the increasing and indiscriminate dumping of wastes and the large presence of rats.
It would be recalled that recently the World Health Organization, WHO, and Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, had reported an upsurge in Lassa Fever cases in parts of the country.
In an interview with Media Talk Africa on Wednesday, Archibong said that poor environmental hygiene in the state accounts for the prevalence of Lassa fever.
According to him, Lassa fever is majorly caused by refuse, contamination of foods and water consumed by humans.
“We have been raising awareness in the State about the increasing waste that litter the city centres. Calabar which was known for its green and clean nature, is now a centre for filth and rats. We have also raised awareness on how to avert the attendant diseases. There are now many rats. Best thing first is to eliminate these rats.
“Lassa Fever is very fatal, meaning that it kills very fast. We should not allow it to spread to everybody.
“We should always cover our foods, keep our environment clean and kill all rats at sight.
“Families have to be very careful with rat poisons so that children don’t go and ingest them.
“The common way of eliminating rats used to be keeping cats in the homes but it appears many people don’t like them.”
Archibong called on the sanitation authorities to help society by frequently cleaning and evacuating the wastes to avert outbreaks of more dangerous diseases.
