The Director of Public Health, Enugu State, Dr Boniface Okolo, has advised Nigerians to discontinue the drinking of soaked garri so as to prevent contacting Lassa fever.
According to him, the rats that caused the disease were mostly in contact with ‘garri’ – a popular Nigerian cassava product.
He gave the warning on Saturday, January 18, 2020 in Enugu, during an interview with newsmen.
Boniface said since soaked garri does not require boiled water, it is necessary to discourage it’s consumption.
According to him, “It is better that the cassava flakes called garri is used for ‘eba’, because of the use of hot water.
“We in the state health ministry are waging total war against rodents through sensitisation, that is what we are doing to ensure we do not have victim of Lassa fever in the state.
“We are also sensitising the public to ensure that their fruits and raw vegetables are properly washed if they must be consumed them raw and cook to the appropriate temperature.
“The best practices for food storage should be encouraged to prevent epidemic.
”We should always make sure that we use air-tight clean plastic containers to preserve our foodstuff to avoid lassa fever and other diseases,” he said.
