The Osun state government says it will engage consultants to go round the state to fumigate and get rid of rats and rodents that may cause health hazards including Lassa fever. Mr Oladepo Atanda, the State Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, disclosed this during an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Osdogbo.
He said animals in the forests were not the real causes of Lassa fever but rodents and rats that usually came close and enter homes due to human dirtiness and filthiness. Atanda said the state government, through his ministry, two weeks ago, had set up and registered some fumigation consultants capable of doing a thorough job of fumigation around the state.
“It is not the bush animals that cause Lassa fever really; they are the rodents that persist around the towns and cities, basically the rats that are generated by our dirtiness and our filthiness. “This is not a forestry issue, what we just initiate about two weeks ago is to set up some consultants or registered some fumigation consultants that we know are capable of doing thorough fumigation. “They are to go round the cities and fumigate most of the popular places like markets; hotels; eateries and public places around after getting our license. The commissioner said within few weeks, the fumigation services would be commissioned and they would start the work thereafter. He said they would go round the state to fumigate, especially all the areas prone to rodents, rats and other creature that could cause health hazard.
