Tag Archives: Rats

Lassa Fever: You can now make money by killing rats in Lagos.

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The Lagos State Government will not relent in its effort at making the state the safest place to live in by providing a safe environment, the Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, has said.

Adejare made the assertion on Thursday at the official flag-off of the Lagos State Market Deratisation Programme at Obalende Market.

The programmed is aimed at ridding the state of the Lassa Fever vector.

The government is collaborating with Phosguard Fumigants, an NGO, to promote the programme through “Kill rats, make more money in Lagos”.

Under the programme, the residents are encouraged to kill rats in their environs, which the programme implementers, Phosguard, will buy at a yet-to-be determined price for proper disposal.

Adejare said: “As a bourgeoning global urban agglomeration with a population of over 22 million people and daily waste generation of 13,000 metric tons, Lagos requires proactive environmental management to control pest and by extension diseases.

“Lagos is a mega city with the highest population which is still growing though in terms of landmass it is the smallest state in the country.

“According to a UN report, our nation still ranks among the countries with the highest number of infant mortality, hence we need to look inward to know how we can control this.

“In lieu of this, we are looking at how we can free Lagos from diseases, pestilence and infestations. We talk about mosquito control, pest control and other dangerous animals in our society.

 

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“The administration of Gov. Akinwumi Ambode is committed to ensuring that we have the safest place to live in not minding anywhere we are in Lagos.”

Adejare said that to provide a safe environment for the people, vector control remains the ideal strategy.

Adejare also said: “The mega structure of the state has, however, provided the opportunity for transmission of pathogens between animal species and humans which are heightened by the unprecedented increase in the movement of people.

“No doubt, the alluring feature of our state exposes it to a number of threats that if unchecked can spell doom for the wellbeing of the residents in general.

“The environmental and health hazards that vectors present to our people can therefore not be ignored. Therefore, to protect the population from epidemics, such as Lassa fever, vector control remains the way out.

“Vector control is a means of eradicating mammals, birds and other arthropods collectively called vectors which transmit disease pathogens.

“It is noteworthy that all over the world vector management has grown to become an economy on its own; we wish to take advantage of the enormous economic opportunities.

“Therefore, as beneficiaries of this initiative, it is our responsibility to cooperate with the agents of government going round to rid our markets of rodents and other disease vectors.

Lassa Fever: Lagos launches Operation kill Rats, make More Money

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The Lagos State Government will not relent in its effort at making the state the safest place to live in by providing a safe environment, the Commissioner for The Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare has said.

Adejare made the assertion at the official flag-off of the Lagos State Market Deratisation Programme, aimed at ridding the state of the Lassa Fever vector at Obalende market on Thursday.

The government is collaborating with Phosguard Fumigants, an NGO, to promote the programme through “Kill rats, make more money in Lagos’’.

Under the programme, the residents are encouraged to kill rats in their environs which the programme implementers, Phosguard will buy at a yet-to-be determined price for proper disposal.

The commissioner said the government was resolved to make Lagos State one of the safest places in spite of its increasing population.

“As a bourgeoning global urban agglomeration with a population of over 22 million people and daily waste generation of 13,000 metric tons, Lagos requires proactive environmental management to control pest and by extension diseases.

“Lagos is a mega city with the highest population which is still growing though in terms of landmass it is the smallest state in the country.

“According to a UN report, our nation still ranks among the countries with the highest number of infant mortality, hence we need to look inward to know how we can control this.

“In lieu of this, we are looking at how we can free Lagos from diseases, pestilence and infestations. We talk about mosquito control, pest control and other dangerous animals in our society.

“The administration of Gov. Akinwumi Ambode is committed to ensuring that we have the safest place to live in not minding anywhere we are in Lagos,’’ he said.

Adejare said that to provide a safe environment for the people, vector control remains the ideal strategy. “The mega structure of the state has, however, provided the opportunity for transmission of pathogens between animal species and humans which are heightened by the unprecedented increase in the movement of people.

“No doubt, the alluring feature of our state exposes it to a number of threats that if unchecked can spell doom for the wellbeing of the residents in general.

“The environmental and health hazards that vectors present to our people can therefore not be ignored. Therefore, to protect the population from epidemics, such as Lassa fever, vector control remains the way out.
“Vector control is a means of eradicating mammals, birds and other arthropods collectively called vectors which transmit disease pathogens,’’ he said.

Adejare said that the government was using the most environmental friendly vector control intervention with no known side effect.

“To take advantage of the many benefits of vector control, less illness, safety of homes, building and markets, the government is delivering effective deratisation through the use of tested technology.

“It is noteworthy that all over the world vector management has grown to become an economy on its own; we wish to take advantage of the enormous economic opportunities.

“Therefore, as beneficiaries of this initiative, it is our responsibility to cooperate with the agents of government going round to rid our markets of rodents and other disease vectors.

“The vector control programme is in line with our goal of regenerating the environment to make it liveable for all and for certain, we all have a role to play in the proper sanitation,’’ he said.

The sole administrator of Ikoyi Obalende Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr Goke Ona-Olawale, lauded the government for the initiative and pledged the council’s cooperation for its success.

“We are lucky to have the flag-off of such an epoch initiative starting with our council. Obliviously, this council has so many important features to qualify it as first.
“Most of the past presidents of the country lived in this community and we are also privileged to have two main barracks, Dodan and the Police barracks sited here.

“We will ensure that all hands are on deck to ensure the success of the programme aimed at providing a safe environment for us all to live in. “The people have also pledged to give the government the necessary support because this is a programme that will directly benefit them and they are well aware,’’ he said.

The Iyaloja of Obalende, Alhaja Jokotade Logun, thanked the state government for its efforts at providing a safe environment for the market women and also pledged their support.

“This is a good thing coming to us, it shows that we have a government that is fully committed to our welfare and we will not disappoint, we will provide the necessary support.

“For our markets to be free of filth, we have also evolved a plan within ourselves to compliment the government efforts, and I have the backing of our members toward achieving it.

“We have been discussing about how we can improve on the sanitation within the markets and now that government has taken a bold step at helping us, we will also make sure we do not disappoint,’’ she said.

NAN reports that the government has provided two Toyota Hilux vans and other logistics for the hitch-free implementation of the programme. Also, the field officers from Phosguard Fumigants demonstrated how to bait for the rodents and evacuation of the dead rats.

“Kill Rats And Make Money In Lagos” -NGO

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In a bid to avert incidents of Lassa fever and other vector-borne diseases in Lagos State, a non-governmental organisation, Phosguard Fumigant Limited, in partnership with the state government, has introduced a bounty, ‘Kill rats, make money.’

Under the project, rodents in the state will be bought by the NGO after they had been killed using hi-tech chemicals and equipment that would make their decomposing bodies non-infectious, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.


The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Oluwasegun Benson, on Sunday, said the bounty
would help to get rid of rats in the state.

“We will buy at least 20 rats for a yet-to-be determined amount. In Lagos now, it is operation kill rats and make money.

“A rat has 28 days gestation period and in the past years, there has not been any solid structure on ground to curb them from infecting humans with diseases.

“We are already approaching an epidemic with Lassa fever and we must be proactive and find a more coordinated approach to control them. It is war against rodents and pests in Lagos State,’’ he said.

Rats To Screen Inmates For Tuberculosis

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Scientists in East Africa are planning to exploit trained rats’ highly developed sense of smell to carry out mass screening for tuberculosis among inmates of crowded prisons in Tanzania and Mozambique.

Health officials noted on Friday in Dar Es Salaam that this has became imperative because in Tanzania, people in communities where tuberculosis is most common, including prisons, often fail to show up for screening due to paucity of funds or awareness.

“Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death, after HIV, from an infectious disease around the world.

“The WHO data shows that there are about 9 million new cases a year and around 2 million deaths,” they said.

They said this is creating a huge burden for health authorities trying to tackle the disease.

The health official said because existing systems lack the accuracy, speed and cost-efficiency required scaling up screening of the highly contagious disease, many TB cases go undiagnosed.

They disclosed that to achieve this, African Giant Pouched Rats trained by the Belgian non-governmental organisation “APOPO”, widely known for their work sniffing out landmines, are now developing a reputation in East Africa for their skill and speed at detecting TB too.

Charlie Richter, APOPO’s U.S. Director, said with funding from the United States Agency for International Development, plans were underway to recruit and train more rats to carry out prison screening.

He said the system is faster and more reliable than existing methods.

“We believe our unique TB Detection Rat technology will prove itself as an effective mass-screening tool.

“We then aim to expand the programme to all prisons, shantytowns, factories and other settings in Tanzania, Mozambique and other high TB-burden countries, as well as in high-risk groups such as those individuals living with HIV/AIDS.

“This will improve and save lives all over the globe at a low cost,” he said.

Credit: Punch

Lassa Fever: Nigerian Universities Deploy Cats To Exterminate Rats

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Authorities of the various universities in the country have deployed various strategies, including the use of cats, in order to prevent an outbreak of Lassa fever on campuses, findings by our correspondents reveal.

 

 

From the University of Benin, Edo State; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State; Enugu State University of Science and Technology to the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the race for hunting of rats has taken a new dimension.

 
While some of the institutions employ the conventional approach such as cleanliness, sensitising students and members of staff to the danger of co-habiting with rats, and fumigation, others use the unorthodox mechanism like purchasing of cats to exterminate rats in their campuses.

 

Rats, especially the Natal multimammate mice (Mastomys natalensis), found in many sub-Saharan Africa, are believed to be the major carrier of Lassa fever or Lassa hemorrhagic fever. And statistics so far show that no fewer than 60 persons have lost their lives to the virus in Nigeria.

 

The authorities of UNIBEN are not giving anything to chance, especially with the reported death of a final-year engineering student. The student was said to be an occupant in Hall Three, one of the hostels on Ugbowo campus of the university.

 

But the UNIBEN management, through its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Michael Osasuyi, dismissed the speculation about the death of a student of the university.

 

According to him, there is no truth in the story that a final-year student died of the virus.

 

Osasuyi, who, however, said the university was carrying out proactive measures to forestall any outbreak in the institution, added that a committee had been set up to sensitise members of staff and students to the dangers of the virus.

 

He also hinted of plans to “de-rat the university” as part of efforts to check the prevalence of rodents in the community.

 

Osasuyi added, “The vice-chancellor has mandated the student union to organise sensitisation programmes. Before any outbreak, the university is even proactive. The population of student is much; so, we cannot take chances. It is no news that we have rats everywhere.”

 

However, it was also learnt that the various hostels had been fortified with cats allegedly provided by the university management to control the number of rats within the community.

 

The use of cats to prevent an outbreak of the virus is also practiced in ABU. It was gathered that the authorities, in declaring war on rats, provided cats on hostels, especially on Samaru and Kongo campuses.

 

The Director, Health Services of the ABU, Dr. Hauwa Nana-Madugu, who confirmed this, however, said the university was free of Lassa fever.

 

According to her, all the hostels – Amina, Suleiman, Akenzua, Danfo-dio, ICSA/Rammat – have been provided with cats to eliminate all rats.

 

Besides fumigating and clearing the surroundings, students and members of staff, she said, had been sensitised to the danger of the disease.

 

She added, “Apart from fumigating the environment, clearing of the bushes and rats’ (reservoir), the various hostels have been provided with cats to attack the rats. The university has no option but to safeguard the lives of the residents of the community.”

 

Credit : Punch

Environmental Health Officers Kill 4,400 Rats In 6 Markets In Lagos State

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The Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria (EHOAN), Lagos State Chapter, on Monday said that it had killed no fewer than 4,400 rats at six major markets in the state under its de-rat market programme.

 

 

Its president, Mr Samuel Akingbehin, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that his association carried out the exercise at Onigongbo, Oshodi , Oke-Odo,Ikotun Idanwo, Ojuwoye and Mile 12 Markets. He said that de-rating the markets was part of the association’s efforts to curb the spread of Lassa fever in the state.

 

 

“The exercise is strategic in our effort toward the prevention of communicable diseases,’’ he said.

 

 

NAN reports that this was part of efforts by the public and relevant agencies to de-rat markets that were the causes of the Lassa Fever that had broken out in many states.

 

 

The disease, since its outbreak, had killed no fewer than 76 of its victims and over 200 cases across 17 out of the 36 states are quarantined and under observations.

 

 

Akingbehin appealed to traders from across the state to show an understanding toward the efforts of the association to rid the markets of rats and rodents. He said that the plan was to de-rat markets in one local government area per day starting from 5p.m. The association decided on this time to allow traders and buyers transact their legitimate businesses.

 

 

“We also decided to put the exercise in the evening due to the nocturnal nature of rodents and our members had recorded successes in the markets visited till date. “It took us about three hours to cover the Oshodi market when our members went there for the exercise.

 

 

“Today, Monday, we will be visiting Suru-Alaba Market in Orile-Ifelodun LCDA by 5p.m. with about 400 EHOs to de-rat it. We are still calling on all other executive secretaries of the local government areas to assist us toward the elimination of rodents in our markets and our environments,’’ he said.

 

 

 

(NAN)