Gastroenteritis Disease: Lagos Activates Emergency Operation Centre

Due to the growing concern about the recent increase in the incidence of gastroenteritis in Lagos State, the State Government has activated an Emergency Operation Centre to coordinate response against the outbreak of the disease

According to the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, “the EOC is a command & control centre headquartered in the Min of Health, it will coordinate & fine-tune logistics in response to the increase in no of cases recorded in the past weeks.

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“They will collate results, review plans & interventions as well as coordinate the implementation of measures to effectively curtail the spread of the disease & manage future occurrences promptly and effectively.

Abayomi stated that the state government has been proactive in its response and management of the excess cases of vomiting and diarrhea since the report was made and investigation commenced

He said, “We ‘ve been able to send some samples to our laboratory, some tested positive for a type of cholera. We are going to do some in-depth analysis to see if some other pathogens or agents contributed to this outbreak.

Abayomi added that disease surveillance officers at the State and local government level are currently carrying out intensive surveillance to stop the spread of the disease

“We are taking this as an opportunity to strengthen our response and preparedness so that we can come on top of this situation very quickly.”

Abayomi assured that the State government will not relent in ensuring that citizens remain safe and healthy noting that well-being of residents is paramount to the present administration

The Commissioner advised members of the public to pay due attention to personal hygiene and environmental sanitation by keeping their environment clean, avoiding open defecation & ensuring drains are clean.