Lassa Fever: COOU Management Embarks On Sensitization Of Students, Staff

To help prevent the spread of Lassa Fever in the state, the management of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University has held a one day Sensitization Workshop for the students and staff members of the university.

The workshop which was held at the ETF building of the university, centered on reality, symptoms, treatment and prevention of Lassa Fever and other emerging diseases.

According to Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, an upsurge in the number of Lassa cases has been registered in Nigeria since the beginning of 2020 with two hundred and fifty-eight positive cases and forty-one deaths at the end of January in nineteen states .

Following the lone reported case of the virus in Anambra State, the management of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, has thought it wise to educate their students and staff members on the preventive measures to help prevent the spread of the virus in the state and most especially to prevent it from entering the university community.

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Professor Amobi Ilika, a Consultant with the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka, Dr Emmanuel Azuike and Dr Ifeoma Njelita who are both medical experts have in their various lectures highlighted the cause, symptoms, and preventive measures, including keeping rodents out of homes and food supplies, effective personal hygiene, storing grain and foodstuffs in rodent-proof containers and disposing of garbage far from home to help sustain clean household.

They charged the university governing council to adopt a proper water sanitation and hygiene approach to aid prevention.

Addressing the gathering, the Vice Chancellor, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Professor Greg Nwakobi who advocated similar workshops to be held in other institutions, communities, churches, market places among others, expressed optimism that such will go a long way in preventing the spread of the virus.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Professor Solomon Ekwenze and the Registrar of the institution, Dr Ngozi Ezibe were among those that attended the workshop.