
Lassa fever is a communicable disease found in West Africa and caused by contact with rats. A few years ago, the Center for Disease Control had the bright idea to educate the populations of these countries through catchy songs recorded on cassette tapes and distributed throughout the villages. Here are some examples of the lyrics...
Lassa no go come again-o
if ya cover your water
Lassa no go come again-o
If you cover your food
Lasso no go come again-0
Oh do ya never go eat a rat-a
If you eat a rat-a you go get Lassa fever
If your throat de hot, if your eye de red, your back de hard and your body de warm,
No way na Lassa you don't get so
Now I know that my readers are smarter than the CDC and can see the problem with this scheme. If you are poor enough to be eating rats, then you probably won't have the latest stereo system or even the electricity to run it. So thousands of cassette tapes sit in warehouses and Lassa fever is still with us.
TIA (this is Africa)
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