..expert blames Benue people’s appetite for ratsWith over 1,030 suspected cases of Lassa Fever, 66 confirmed cases and 14 deaths recorded in the last six months, the Ter Makurdi, HRH, Chief Vincent Aule has called for a legislation banning the importation and consumption of rats in Benue state.
The One Health Coordinator, Benue State Ministry of Health and Human Services, Dr. Jerry Agber explained that the State Ministry of Health in collaboration with other stakeholders put the meeting together to engage and sensitise the people on the control of Lassa Fever in the state, “with particular focus on strategies to stop the importation of rats from other states to Benue, which are the vector of Lassa Fever.
“So it became very important to call a stakeholders meeting like this where we have market women, traditional rulers, the Police, paraparamilitary organisations, the Qurantine officials, among others to interact and chart a way forward and fill the missing link that saw us record those outbreaks.”