Barely a week after Monkey Pox, a dreaded viral epidemic broke out in Yenegoa, Bayesla State, Akwa Ibom State has recorded its first infection, NEXT EDITION can authoritatively report.
The state Commissioner for Information, Charles Udoh, confirmed the spread of the infection to the state.
Mr. Udo said the state has recorded one confirmed case while two other cases were being investigated.
“Akwa Ibom has recorded one confirmed case of Monkey Pox while two other cases are still under investigation,” Mr. Udo said.
“Monkey Pox currently has no treatment and no vaccine. It looks like Small Pox but the rashes are larger while the disease is milder.
“The era of avoiding excessive handshake, regular hand washing and abstinence from bush meat is here again.”
Mr. Udoh promised to release further information on the issue as the state battles to stop the spread of the infection.
Monkey Pox was first reported in Yenagoa, on October 4 with 10 persons infected.
Barely a day after, authorities in the state said 49 persons alleged to have met the infected persons were being tracked.
As part of measures to contain the infection, many were quarantined in an isolation centre at the Niger Delta University Hospital (NDUTH) Okolobiri.
The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and the epidemiological team of the Bayelsa State Ministry of Health, created the facility.
The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Health, Ebitimitula Etebu, while confirming the development, said samples of the virus had been sent to the World Health Organisation, WHO, laboratory in Dakar, Senegal, for confirmation.
He said the Monkey Pox is a viral disease caused by a group of viruses that include chicken pox and small pox, noting that the first case was reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He, however, said the strain found in West Africa is milder than that of the Central Africa, noting that there has been no record of mortality.
