The Ogun State Government has said that 100,000 residents of the state were living with HIV.
The Commissioner for Health in the State, Babatunde Ipaye, stated this to PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“The number of people living with HIV in Ogun is about 100,000,but its has drastically reduced and HIV has declined from 3.5 per cent to 0.6 per cent as contained in the current statistics by the Federal Ministry of Health,” he said.
Mr. Ipaye said the virus was prevalent in sexually-active people who are older than 15. He asked young people to avoid multiple sexual partners or use protection during sex.
In a related development, the commissioner said Lassa fever, which has been detected in neighbouring states, has not been detected in Ogun.
“As at today, no single case of Lassa fever has been reported in Ogun State. But around us, border states, which include Lagos and Ondo states, we have records of Lassa fever cases.
“A case of one patient was discovered in Ijaiye-Ojokoro in Lagos State, a border community to Ogun State. The man was said to have come from Kano, but as at now he has been taken to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH)where he is receiving treatment. We also have a record of similar discovery in Ondo State, which is our neighbour.
“Government has directed all its medical facilities to be at alert. We shall continue our surveillance. There is no need to panic,” he stated.
Mr. Ipaye called on residents to maintain a clean environment.
“Let us ensure we get rid of rats in our surroundings. Avoid putting food in open places to avoid rat contact. Personal hygiene is important.
“Any case of malaria not responding to treatment should be reported to health authorities. We are also in regular contact with the Federal Ministry of Health,” he said.
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