The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, has finally confirmed three cases of monkey pox virus from the 13 suspected cases reported from Bayelsa State in September.
Professor Adewole who announced this on Monday at a press conference in Abuja said the confirmation was the final report from the analysis of the samples which were taken to the World Health Organisation laboratory in Dakar, Senegal.
He also confirmed that four results from the 43 suspected cases reported from other states including Lagos, Akwa Ibom, and Ekiti states were negative.
It would be recalled that Prof. Isaac Adewole, had last week said that cases of monkey pox reported in different parts of the country can only be confirmed after laboratory tests, insisting that as of then, it is only a suspicion.
Prof Adewole, however, had blamed states for slow response to outbreaks of diseases, adding that the health authorities at that level of government do not report cases on time.
Ihekweazu noted that so far, there are no confirmed cases of the virus outside Bayelsa State.The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Chikwe Ihekweazu, called for calm among citizens.
This comes less than one week after the Federal Government said the reported cases of the disease in some parts of the country were suspicion unless confirmed after laboratory tests.
Monkey Pox is a rare and infectious disease caused by monkey virus, transmitted from animals to human, with symptoms similar to those of smallpox, although less severe.
Laboratory monkeys are identified as its first originators, hence the name ‘Monkey Pox but rodents are the chief vectors of the disease, thus, the virus can be actively transmitted to humans by rodents or primates. It is also transmitted secondarily by human-to-human contact.
Nigeria Health Minister confirms the outbreak of Monkey Pox Outbreak: Three Cases Of The Virus
source: buzz Nigeria