Mr Dayo Saka-Fafunmi, the Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Environment, on Thursday urged residents of the state to maintain a hygienic environment in order to prevent the spread of Lassa fever.
The Federal Government says Lassa fever has so far claimed 41 lives from 93 reported cases in 10 states.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, had called on health workers at all levels to be more vigilant and look out for patients with symptoms of the disease.
Saka-Fafunmi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the outbreak of Lassa fever was partly a fall out of environmental abuses.
“The nation has lost a lot of people to the negative attitude to our environment. Cleanliness of our environment remains solution to most of our health challenges.
“Lagosians should be more conscious of their environment.
“ We need to maintain high level of hygienic environment because it is what we throw into the environment that the environment throws back at us.
“We just ended festive period and there is no way our surroundings won’t be littered with dirt and remnants from food stuffs. Let keep our environment clean.
“We must maintain a clean environment devoid of rodents. Don’t just eat bush meat or rats; even when rats are trapped , don’t touch,” the lawmaker said.
According to him, all environmental abuses will have negative effect on the health of residents.
“Environment determines the existence of any human being. Nature has been in existence even before the creation of man.
“Nature does not even need human beings. It is human beings that need nature to survive. So, we need the environment to survive,’’ he said.
He warned residents to desist from the habit of dumping refuse in the canals and drains.
The committee chairman said that regular sanitation would reduce the harsh effect of environment abuses.
The lawmaker urged residents to report any symptom of Lassa fever to the nearest public hospital to curtail spread.