We Can’t Play God ? Lassa fever: Group to buy rats from Lagosians

We Can’t Play God ? 

Lassa Fever: Group to buy rats from Lagosians

Have we asked ourselves this question:  If all rats disappeared tomorrow would there be any negative environmental impact?

Headlines like the one above have continued to features on the front page of our newspapers without Environmentalists and Biologists querying the modalities of such action. A Yoruba proverb says ‘’Se oribibe ni ogun ori fifo literally meaning ‘’Is Cutting the head the solution to a bad headache’’.

Nigerians both government and its people, we are fast in looking for a quick solution to our problem without tackling the root cause of such problems. During the Ebola crises, many Nigerians are quick in killing the primate Spp they have been keeping as pet for years. Now it’s Lassa fever, have we asked ourselves this question:  If all rats disappeared tomorrow would there be any negative environmental impact?

The problem is not with rats, we are our own problem. The basic problem is that our basic hygiene and sanitation is poor.  Cut away the food chain of rat within our houses and market. Then the rats will move back to the bush and forested areas.

Rat populations can also be reduced by permanently changing the environment and the availability of food, water and nesting places that rats need to survive. These actions are commonly referred to as environmental management. They can be particularly effective when aiming to stop rodents sheltering near to human living areas, and eating stored food and water meant for immediate human consumption. Good sanitation can really make a major difference in the number of rodents living close to people, reducing rodent impacts on humans and their abodes.

Finally, in addition to population reduction and environmental management, there are actions that reduce people’s exposure to rats without, perhaps, doing much about the rat population itself. Removing contact and exposure to rodents and the diseases they carry can be achieved by the actions described above, but also by encouraging and educating communities about basic hygiene, such as frequent handwashing with soap and basic self-hygiene practice.

Let stop killing the rats. Improvement of basic environmental sanitation and hygiene is the simple solution to Lassa fever eradication.