UPDATE ON MONKEY POX OUTBREAK
The Bayelsa State health authorities in collaboration
with World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Centre for Disease
Control have assured that the outbreak is being effectively handled.
Victims have been properly quarantined in an isolated centre at the
Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital in Okolobiri and are being
appropriately monitored.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu,
said the health authorities have embarked on a statewide sensitisation
campaign on how to identify victims.
According to him, the virus was first seen in monkey,
but could also be found in all bush animals such as rats, squirrels and
antelopes.
The secretions from dead animals are highly contagious.
The commissioner listed the symptoms of monkey pox as
severe headache, fever and back pain among others, and that most
worrisome of all the signs were rashes bigger than those caused by
chicken pox.
He assured that there is no reason for residents of
Bayelsa State to panic. Individuals, especially those handling living or
dead animals, are advised to observe the simple hygiene of washing
their hands with water and hand sanitiser.
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