Lassa fever and other plagues: When we eat our way to death

Director of Public Health, Enugu State, Dr Boniface Okolo, warned Nigerians against the consumption of cassava flakes to avoid contracting Lassa fever. Photo: DOZENPRICE

As of the first week in February 2020, the death toll from the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria had risen to 47 as disclosed by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control in its weekly situation update for week five . It is also important to bring to the attention of Nigerians that we should be wary of smoked meat slices , bean cake , roasted corn and other food items or snacks that are usually sold by wrapping them in old newspapers or other paper materials where rodents might have excreted on them. That paper-wrapped food item may not be washed or rinsed before consuming so it becomes unhealthy to eat. It is therefore not hygienic to keep food items in used papers.

The public alert from NAFDAC reads: “The members of the public, especially restaurant operators are cautioned to desist from the dangerous and unapproved use of paracetamol tablets to soften meat used in food preparation, as such illegal practice makes food to become toxic, unwholesome and unfit for human consumption.” The statement further explains the effects and health implications of consuming paracetamol-treated meats.

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