Fear of Lassa fever: Read what has become of rat poison
– Increase in sales of rat poison since the outbreak of Lassa fever.
– Traders in the North boast of increase in demand for rat poison.
Following the recent outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria that has left at least 76 people dead and sparked fears of contagion, there has been a rise in the sales of rat poison, AFP reports.
Rat poison sales have have increased since the outbreak of Lassa fever
In Kano state there has been “unprecedented” purchases of pest control products.
Shehu Idris Bichi, the head of the city’s chemicals traders, who spoke to AFP, said sales have have increased four-fold since the outbreak was first announced.
He said: “Traders are doing brisk business because people are making unprecedented purchases of the product to rid their homes of rats that cause the disease.”
READ ALSO: Lassa Fever Kills 3 In Lagos, As Garri Market Soars
Another trader, Abubakar Ja’afar, who works in Kano’s largest market, said he had never seen sales so high in his 20 years in the trade, with traders in other cities reporting similar increases in sales.
He said: “I used to get between five and 10 clients a day but now I get at least 30 customers… people you don’t expect because of their social status. Lassa doesn’t discriminate between the rich and the poor.”
Awwalu Amini another trader in Kano said: “I was making up to 500 naira a day but now I make between 2,000 naira and 4,000 naira every day.”
In a related development, the Lagos state government has confirmed 3 of the 14 suspected cases of Lassa fever and one death as it is currently monitoring 438 people who have had contacts with the confirmed cases.
READ ALSO: Nurses, Patients Run As Lassa Fever Claims 2 People
In a joint statement signed by Dr. Jide Idris, the commissioner for health and Dr. Olufemi Onanuga, the special adviser on Primary Health Care (PHC), the state government has reactivated isolation wards in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and 26 general hospitals in the state for isolation of any suspected case.
Meanwhile, Business Day reports that Nigeria’s N500 billion garri industry is proving unshaken in the face of the outbreak of Lassa fever.
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