Lassa Fever: Ebonyi To Ban Citizens From Eating Rats

The Ebonyi State Government is set to begin an intensive sensitization against rat consumption in rural areas as an avenue to curb further spread of Lassa fever.

According to reports, the State Commissioner for Environment, Chief Donatus Njoku, on Monday in Abakaliki, said the government would explore all ways to stop the citizens from consuming rats as the rural inhabitants believe rats have high nutritional value.

“Rats are the primary vectors of the disease, and we are vigorously carrying out enlightenment through mass media, workshops, seminars and various ministries’ communication channels, Njoku said.

“We will collaborate with traditional rulers and other opinion leaders at the grassroots to educate rural dwellers to shun such a notion and realise that rat is the disease’s primary vector.

“We have also continued to sensitise the populace to urgently report suspected cases to relevant health agencies. “With the total functionality of the state government-owned South-East Virology Centre, such an occurrence can be expeditiously handled.’’

The commissioner went further to say that there is a policy that mandates the populace to always keep their environment clean and safe rather than waiting for a scheduled date for general sanitation.

“The state government has evolved policies which make the populace to clean their environments on daily basis and not wait for designated days,” he said.

Njoku told newsmen that Governor Dave Nweze Umahi usually visits the ministries and parastatal-agencies in the state for on-the-spot assessments in order to ensure that the state`s Ministry of Environment is supervising the cleanliness of the environment as directed.

It would be recalled that the Lassa fever outbreak in the state killed about four persons in January.