The federal government says it has strengthened activities on environmental health and sanitation response to the Lassa fever outbreak in the country.

The Minister of State for Environment, Sharon IKeazor, disclosed this in a statement by Saghir el Mohammed, spokesman for the ministry, on Sunday in Abuja.

Ms Ikeazor said the ministry had embarked on an environmental health and sanitation response campaign in 11 states to ensure environmental sanitation, abatement of the nuisance, rodent control, and food hygiene and safety.

According to her, Nigeria is currently experiencing an increasing number of reported Lassa fever cases.

“The most recent situation report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on January 16, 2022, indicated 96 confirmed cases and 11 deaths from January 3 to 16. The cases recorded are in 27 local government areas across 11 states,” explained the minister.

This is in addition to the 510 confirmed cases and 102 deaths from January 2021 to January 2. The states include Bauchi, Edo, Ondo, Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi, Cross River, Ebonyi and Oyo.

The minister noted that before the recent outbreak, the ministry had taken proactive measures to improve the country’s overall sanitation and hygiene situation.

She also mentioned that the measures included establishing sanitation desks in all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

“This is in addition to the setting up of Environmental Health Surveillance Systems designed to strengthen cooperation between the states and Federal Government on environmental health and sanitation issues,” said the minister. “This will as well aid information/data gathering and sharing between the federal, state and local governments. “The sanitation desks are being replicated in all the 774 LGAs in the country.”

(NAN)