The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Babatunde Ipaye

  • Ogun immunizes 1.2 million children in six months

    An average of 1.2 million children are immunized every six month in Ogun State, as part of efforts to ensure effective health care delivery to the citizenry, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye has disclosed.

    Making the disclosure at a community health outreach, organized by The Collective Club in Sagamu, Dr. Ipaye said the immunization included the use of vitamin A supplementation, to prevent complications of conditions, thereby reducing unnecessary spending by parents.

    The Commissioner, through his Media Aide, Miss. Omolola Awolana, said the State has been able to put cholera at bay through investment in primary healthcare, adding that massive health education and nutritional supplementation were some of the preventive interventions put in place, to prevent the outbreak of the disease.

    According to him, ‘’What we have done more deliberately is to focus on  primary interventions which are largely of two strategies, the first is massive health education on what we call primary prevention and the second is to give preventive intervention which includes immunization, that is what we have done. We immunize an average of 1.2 million children every six month, so how will you have outbreak of diseases, when you have practically immunized all your children?’’

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    The President, The Collective Club, Mr. Samson Ogunjimi while underscoring the essence of the outreach, said the Club chooses to support the government by focusing on neglected non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and blood pressure, as government could not do it alone.

    Beneficiaries of the outreach, Amusa Oluwatosin and Jiro Ejiroka appreciated the organizers of the event for the initiative, advising citizens to utilize the opportunity provided by the State government and private organizations to know their health status, so as to live a healthy live.

  • No monkey pox in Ogun – Govt

    No monkey pox in Ogun – Govt

    Ogun State government said on Tuesday there is no case of monkey pox in the state and described as shocking a report credited to Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), listing the state as one of the states affected by the disease.

    The state Commissioner for Health, Babatunde Ipaye, told journalists in Abeokuta there is no case of monkey pox in the state.

    He blamed the report on overzealous official of the state who informed the Federal Ministry of Health when the case has not been properly examined.

    The commissioner said the particular officer from the state hospital in Ijebu Ode only noticed a skin lesion on a patient at the hospital and reported the case to NCDC.

    He said the appearance of rashes on the patient was not suggestive of a monkey pox, adding that no due process was followed before the case was reported.

    Ipaye said: “It was very surprising as the state commissioner for health and the chief epidemiologist of the state to hear that Ogun State was listed among states with cases of monkey pox. We have not recorded any confirmed case of monkey pox in the state, Ogun State doesn’t have a single case.

    “Yes, there was an overzealous officer of the ministry who saw somebody with skin lesion in state hospital, Ijebu Ode and unfortunately called the Federal Ministry of Health and incidented suspected case.

    “Any patient in the category of that patient that was incidented cannot be considered as a suspected case because the patient has another primary problem that can give rise to skin lesion, that is not a suspected case.

    “Further questioning was even very revealing that the skin lesion the patient had was not even pathognomonic of monkey pox, it was not suggestive of monkey pox but more of another skin lesion and the screening negates the entire report itself.

    “We are not averse to reporting one, if there is a case.  We are not willing to cover up a case but we must also not sent people panicking for things that we do not have.”

  • Lassa fever contacts increased to 106 in Ogun, says Ipaye

    Lassa fever contacts increased to 106 in Ogun, says Ipaye

    The Ogun State Government on Sunday said that the number of suspected contacts of the Lassa fever had risen to 106.

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye, who disclosed this in a telephone interview, however, allayed the fear of the public

    He said that the state government was putting in place necessary measures to contain the spread.

    Ipaye had on Friday disclosed that no fewer than 66 persons had had contact with the patient.

    NAN reports that a 22-year-old male patient (name withheld) had on Thursday been placed under medical observation at the State Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta over Lassa fever infection.

    Ipaye said all the contacts had  been given thermometers to measure their temperature, with health and surveillance officers of the state government deployed to monitor them daily for 21 days.

    “You don’t take Lassa fever contacts to isolation centre; you only monitor their level of temperature. It is not like the Ebola disease where you take contacts to isolation centres.

    “Initially we had 66 contacts when I briefed you on Friday. Between then and now, we have additional 40 contacts. So, now, we are monitoring 106 contacts.

    The commissioner, however, noted that not all contacts that met the patient during his travel to the hospital had been established.

    “All the 66 were care-providers in all the hospitals that he had been treated. We also had to go to his house to decontaminate it. So, everybody that lives around there is a primary contact one way or the other; just to play safe.

    “We have to monitor their temperature for 21 days. That was what we did for over 1,800 people we followed the other time. We had to monitor their temperature minimum of twice daily – morning and evening.

    “And the contacts must come up to tell us the reading immediately. We have given all of them thermometers and we have taught them how to measure temperature.

    “So, when we call them they will tell us what the temperature is in the morning and in the evening and they will  do this for 21 days. If after 21 days there is no fever of any type, then that patient is discharged from our contacts.

    “But if there is fever, we will take him and put him in an isolated place and do the test quickly. So, if the test is negative we will discharge him. If the test is positive, then we start treating the person.

    “But we do not have any problem for now,” Ipaye said.

  • Ogun shuts 186 health facilities in one year

    Ogun shuts 186 health facilities in one year

    The Ogun government says it has shut no fewer than 186 illegal health facilities in the last one year to check quackery.

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye, gave the figure while speaking with journalists on Tuesday in Abeokuta.

    He said those arrested by the monitoring team of the ministry following the exercise, were either guilty of operating with fake certificates, invalid licence or operating in health facilities without government authorisation.

    “They have also been charged to court by the state government; some of them are awaiting trial,” he said.

    Ipaye warned that the state would not condone any illegal health activity that could undermine its huge investment in the health sector.

    He said that anyone caught engaging in unethical practices in any facility across the state would not be spared.

    “The state government will not fold its arms for anybody to operate illegal health facilities; those who intend to do so or have been doing so should henceforth desist or be ready to face the full wrath of the law,’’ the commissioner said.

    According to Ipaye, it is imperative for owners of health facilities in the state to revalidate their licences.

    “Our inspection teams are ready to clamp down on anyone operating with fake certificate or expired licence,” he said.

  • Ogun records Lassa fever case, shuts down hospitals

    Ogun State government on Thursday confirmed a case of Lassa fever in the state.

    The victim is a 28- year old girl who has been taken to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, for intensive care.

    The state’s Commissioner for Health, Babatunde Ipaye, disclosed this during a press briefing held at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

    The commissioner said the victim returned from Ebonyi State recently.

    He added that two hospitals where the girl was first treated have been shut down.

    Ipaye said 60 primary contacts at the hospitals have also been placed on 21 days surveillance.