In its bid to effectively contain the spread of Lassa Fever in the state, the government of Ebonyi State has closed all public and private schools.
There was an outbreak of Lassa Fever in the state which left two medical doctors and a nurse dead.
The closure of the schools was announced on Thursday.
According to the Commissioner for Education, Prof. John Eke, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abakaliki, the closure was part of the proactive steps taken to contain the spread of the disease in the state.
He said government embarked on the measure to effectively control and contain the spread of the dreaded virus which had claimed some lives including two medical doctors.
The commissioner, however, said that the outbreak of Lassa Fever in the state was not alarming, but noted that the closure of schools was done to check the disease spreading into schools.
“First of all, I want to inform you that the issue of the outbreak of the Lassa disease is not in alarming rate, and what we have done is to ensure that we effectively put the spread under control.
“Again, a women yesterday (Wednesday, January 17), was diagnosed positive of the virus and this patient has her children in schools.
“We believe that one of the best ways to handle the situation is to shut down our schools until we are sure that our pupils and students are safe.
“The schools will remain shut for seven school days to enable us monitor the situation and we appeal to parents, guardians and school authorities to comply with the directive, ” Eke said.
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The Next Edition had reported on Monday that two medical doctors and a nurse with the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, died from Lassa Fever.
Another doctor was reported to be receiving medical treatment at Irrua Specialist Hospital, Irrua, Edo State.
Dr. Chidi Esike, another doctor with the Teaching Hospital in Abakaliki, confirmed the case to The Next Edition.
The deceased are Dr. Felix Ali of the Department of Community Medicine and Dr. AbelSunday Udo of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology.
Both were Resident Doctors with the Teaching Hospital.
According to The Next Edition source, Dr Ali had complications of Lassa Fever and was taken to Irrua Specialist Hospital, Irrua, where he eventually died while Dr. Udo had a few weeks back operated on a patient who was suspected to have Lassa fever.
The patient also died.
The House Officer and nurse who assisted the doctor in carrying out the surgery were rushed to Irrua Specialist Hospital where the nurse died.
The House Officer is however said to be stable.
Lamenting the lack of a Virology Centre in the hospital and the entire South East, Dr. Esike noted that the movement of samples from place to place contributed to the spread of the disease and urged the Federal Government to equip the Virology Centre in the state.
