Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole on Thursday, said the current outbreak of Lassa fever in the country is because the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan failed to implement a roadmap drawn in 2012.

The minister also disclosed that the ministry was going to begin testing on a potential vaccine that would be used to prevent the virus.

Adewole disclosed these while briefing the Senate Committee on Health headed by Sen. Lanre Tejuosho (APC, Lagos) on the outbreak of the lassa virus in Nigeria.

Prof. Adewole put the number of cases as of today was 129 adding that the hospital which treated the deceased victim of the disease before referral to the national hospital was being investigated.

The minister said that the virus would have been defeated by now if there was the Jonathan administration had the political will to implement a roadmap designed in 2012 to forestall future occurrence.

He said: “In 2012 we recorded 1723 cases, after that, because of the severity, the post lassa fever outbreak workshop took place and an action plan to ensure this will never happen again was put in place.

“But this action plan was never implemented because it was never funded. We will dust the old plan, modernize it and look at if from the political perspective: what can we do to provide leadership, to provide support.”

On the vaccine being developed to tackle the disease, the minister said government has been “notified of a candidate vaccine which we will put through chemical trial to find out if it would work.

“We call it a candidate vaccine and we would want to run it through trials and that takes some time. Hopefully we will do that this year, once we consider it to be effective and safe then we put it to use.

“If it works then that means that we would be able to immunize people in the affected areas but for now we will continue with our surveillance,” he said.

He revealed that the vaccine was co-developed by some Nigerians while saying that the current outbreak is a national embarrassment because although there were about 1723 cases in 2012, the percentage death rate of the current outbreak was higher.

He added that the virus had been a yearly occurrence with 400 cases recorded in 2014 although not as publicized as the current outbreak.

“We can assure you that we are not going to sleep, we will remain at work, we are actively moving across the country,” he assured the committee.

On the recent death of a victim at the National Hospital in Abuja, he said that the ministry was investigating the hospital where the victim was first treated for one week.

He said that the Abuja victim actually came from Plateau state because he was ill and landed in a private hospital where he was kept for one week before he was referred.

He said that the dead victim was only referred to the National Hospital when he was already unconscious and therefore died 24 hours later.

“It is unfortunate because if we had picked this man earlier on, we would have been able to put him on medication and he could have been alive today.

“The situation which happened in that private hospital I have asked our people to investigate. We will sanction the doctor or the proprietor if we find any act on negligence on his or her part,” he said.

In his remark, the Chairman of the Committee said that the Senate will be willing to approve money for the health of Nigerians not just for lassa but for other ailments.

http://www.orderpaper.ng/lassa-fever-minister-blames-jonathan-says-vaccine-tested/

Irresponsible people always push the blame

Not surprised.. If they don't heap the blame on Goodluck, who would they heap it on? Oga Jona has become the scapegoat that will carry all the sins and blames in the next three years. Whether the sins and blames be true or false.

We know Mr "HERO" was a mistake




Now you guys are there, please proactive and responsive to your duties



Ka sha ma Dupe

My friend get to wrk n stop dis blame game cos we ar nt interested.

Even though we know Jonathan gave failure a new meaning,that doesn't mean anything should be roped on Jonathan.

You only end up making yourself an object of ridicule.

fools everywhere

Patdedon:
Irresponsible people always push the blame

This is not a "push the blame".

Just a "look into the past" how it could have prevented and help the present issue.

What a bunch of sorry azz blame laying incompetent people we have in this government.
Who did GEJ blame for outbreak of Ebola?

Please these clowns should get down to work

yemmynoni:
We know Mr "HERO" was a mistake





Now you guys are there, please proactive and responsive to your duties




Ka sha ma Dupe

you should also blame Jonathan for missing budget abi double budget. Lying liars

These fools will keep playing the blame button for their zombies till 2019.. Now the game is simple, blame GEJ and the crowd will be satisfied.

yemmynoni:
We know Mr "HERO" was a mistake





Now you guys are there, please proactive and responsive to your duties




Ka sha ma Dupe

you should also blame Jonathan for the missing budget abi double budget. Lying liars

everybody can now see the incompetent of this ewedu eaters and their slave masters, anything they can't handle they will either blame Igbo's or GEJ as the cause of their failure.

Patdedon:
Irresponsible people always push the blame

I no blame when you can read but can't comprehend.Let mi help you.There was a road map plan in 2012 which jona's govt didn't have the political will to work on.If they have done what is suppose to be done.We won't be here with lassa fever.The minister wasn't blaming but just setting the truth straight.Hops you gat that.

THEY ARE TRUMPHET

Tolexander:
This is not a "push the blame".

Just a "look into the past" how it could have prevented and help the present issue.

I doubt it if they have the brain to understand that.

Shameless government looking for who to blame for their incompetence.

Akon your food is ready o

that minister is foolish :-/

yemmynoni:
We know Mr "HERO" was a mistake





Now you guys are there, please proactive and responsive to your duties




Ka sha ma Dupe

you deserve a befitting insult... A very befitting one @ that... A confused person will always look for who to blame..Same Jonathan's government that received recommendation for halting the spread of ebola in Nigeria. Most humans ought not to have brains..an empty skull is just OK since they reason like that.

Stupidity can be annoying, but foolishness and stupidity at the same time is legendary... Na better work and stop blaming people for any misfortune.

It's just becoming irritating.
1yr almost gone and all Buhari has achieved is blaming GEJ.

Just marked this idiots name, Isaac Adewole. Incompetent fool.

Imagine Obama blaming bush for the crisis in the middle east

if u dont have any tangible excuse, blame GEJ. - buari dullard to his noise makers.
GEJ nipped a more dealy ebola in d bud with only 9 lives lost n was restricted to only 3 states. but under buari dullard, 42 lives lost n counting with lassa disease spreading like wild fire all ova d country.
if u dey look for definition of incompetence, look at buari govt.

disloman:
I no blame when you can read but can't comprehend.Let mi help you.There was a road map plan in 2012 which jona's govt didn't have the political will to work on.If they have done what is suppose to be done.We won't be here with lassa fever.The minister wasn't blaming but just setting the truth straight.Hops you gat that.

Olodo u are so hypnotise that u don't know wen to stop talking who did GEJ blame wen Ebola break out? Ur clueless and dullard daura camel rearer and his team are incompetent simple pls stop justifying incompetence with long grammer after all Nigeria did not start exsitence with GeJ

APC government should stop ridiculing themselves. Did GEJ blame Yar Adua or OBJ when Ebola crossed into Nigeria? The Health Minister should fuc(k)ing get to work, the time for blame games have passed.

This is too bad, even a professor too doing a blame game. where do we go from here? Jonathan's govt did not have any road map before halting Ebola to a stand stil in Nigeria. Now you have an issue that is less contagious and deadly than Ebola and you can't contend it as a govt. Prof. pls I dont expect this from you, except you mean you dont have a grasp of your job task. Next time if your wives do not conceive blame it on Good luck no wahala, the gullibles will believe you.

Haa

Nna eh

Which kind blame be this? Is it not the same Jonathan govt that contained Ebola?

Ogs minister, please stfu and get to work

Too many idiots but very few bullets...

GEJ is the modern Jesus ,whom everybody blames for their incompetence.

Bros,get to work,i can't afford to be killed by a rat o.

Even God won't forgive me.