The Rivers State Government has confirmed two cases of the Mpox viral disease, while Abia State has recorded one incident, amidst a national outbreak of the disease.
Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, shared this on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, stating that the Ministry of Health has put appropriate measures in place to respond to the outbreak. She disclosed that the State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre is on high alert to respond to any emergency.
According to Oreh, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has noted 39 confirmed cases of Mpox across the country, with Rivers State having two confirmed cases. She described Mpox as a viral disease that can present various symptoms like fever, general weakness, and back pain. She added that some individuals may experience severe symptoms, especially those with compromised immune systems.
It is worth noting that the health commissioner assured that medical teams have been deployed to respond to emergencies at all healthcare levels, including General Hospitals and Specialist Hospitals. She also disclosed that an incident plan for Mpox has been developed, and ad-hoc staff have been engaged and trained to combat the infection.
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Oreh emphasized that the state government is taking proactive measures to prevent the spread of the disease, saying, “We are galvanizing resources to find all the incident Mpox. We have ad-hoc staff who have been engaged and trained to combat this infection, and they can respond to this infection at all levels of our healthcare pillars.”
In a related development, it bears mentioning that the Abia State Government on Monday confirmed one incident of Mpox, with 13 suspected cases, one positive, nine negative, and three uncertified, with no death recorded yet. Commissioner for Information Okey Kanu made the disclosure.