A monkey sits on a tree at Tsavo East National Park near Voi, Kenya, on May 25, 2015. (Xinhua/Pan Siwei)
by Bosun Awoniyi
LAGOS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government has expressed worry over the current suspected monkey pox outbreak in the country, which has now spread to 11 states.
Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole earlier this week told a meeting attended by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja that the monkey pox virus outbreak has spread to 11 states with 74 suspected cases recorded.
The Nigerian government, on Oct. 11 confirmed that 33 suspected cases of the virus were recorded in seven states.
Monkeypox is a rare viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms in humans similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although less severe.
Smallpox was eradicated in 1980. However, monkey pox still occurs sporadically in some parts of Africa.
The minister listed the affected states as Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa and Rivers as well as Abuja.
"We have confirmed three from Bayelsa and 12 of the suspected cases from Bayelsa tested negative; four suspected cases from Lagos tested negative. We are still expecting the results of the other ones," he said.
"We are also doing test at the African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Edeh, to really understand the genomics of this virus," he added.
Health authority in oil rich Bayelsa had told reporters one of the 21 patients of suspected monkey-pox being managed at the isolation facility of the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), committed suicide on Sunday.
Eleven persons were suspected to have been affected by the disease on Oct. 4 in the state.
State Commissioner for Health, Ebititula Etebu, told reporters that the deceased was recovering before the incident.
The commissioner said a committee had been set up to evaluate his past and recent clinical and social history, to determine if there were undisclosed mental illness or personal family problems that could justify suicide.
Meanwhile, a veterinary doctor, Mutiu Oladele-Bukola, has advocated ban on the importation of rodents into the country to curtail further outbreak of monkey pox and other zoonotic diseases.
Oladele-Bukola of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IART), who made the call, also suggested the establishment of functional Critical Disease Control (CDC) centers to contain such outbreak aside aggressive public education on preventive measures against viral diseases.
He said because of the outbreak of monkey pox people moving in and out of the country should be immunized against the virus.
He emphasized that surveillance measures and rapid identification of new cases were critical for outbreak containment, stressing that people suspected of monkey pox disease should be well quarantined.
According to him, monkey pox is cause by oval brick-shaped viruses that have lipoprotein layer with filaments that cover the viral DNA.
He advised Nigerians to avoid consumption of bush meat, dead animals particularly bush monkeys, stressing that meat and meat products should be thoroughly cooked before eating.
He added that the disease could be prevented by avoiding eating or touching animals known to acquire the virus in the wild (mainly African rodents and monkeys).
Oladele-Bukola also advised citizens to avoid contact with materials such as bedding that had been in contact with a sick animal or person and to practice good hand hygiene with/without contact with infected animals/humans.
According to him, transmission of monkey pox was by direct contact with infected animals or possibly by eating poorly cooked meat from infected rodents or monkey.
