The Ogun State has disclosed that no cases of monkeypox in the state.
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Abuja, had listed the state among areas with suspected cases of the disease.
However, in a statement on Tuesday, the state’s commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye, dismissed the list saying that the case only recorded a “case of skin tissue/rashes after diagnosis was carried out.”
He stated that the State does not have a single case of monkeypox but due to the overzealousness of a health Officer which contacted the NCDC in Abuja that one incident had been recorded in the state.
He said when visited the patient at Ijebu-Ode General Hospital to confirm the incident and the sample of his skin tissue was diagnosed, it resulted as skin tissue/rashes against the widely spread of monkeypox being reported in the paper by the NCDC in Abuja.
He noted that monkeypox is a rare and a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in remote parts of Central and West Africa, saying that it’s symptoms are very similar to that of smallpox which requires the proactive measure to combat.
The Commissioner noted that in the wake of this outbreak, the State government is reiterating the need for members of the public to observe and maintain a proper high standard of personal and environmental hygiene at all times as part of precautionary measures to prevent the disease.
“You see, people should cultivate the habit of eating bush meat and even minimise interaction with animals, we should maintain proper personal and environmental hygiene and more so to reduce handshake,” Ipaye stated.
He added that the three Isolation centre in the state was on red alert to curtail any forms of epidemic diseases in the state, noting that one in Iberekodo General Hospital, Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba, and Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu.
He said the state government had contacted the National Centre for Disease Control in Abuja to come for further clarification as the state would not take the section of public health response for granted.
He urged members of the public to be Vigilante and report any suspected case of the disease to the nearest public health facility or they should call these numbers for any emergency; 08033591033 and 08094663429.
He also admonished health workers in the state to proactive and practice universal safety precautions in the management of any suspected or confirmed cases, noted that they should wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment when attending to cases and wash hands after contact with each patient or contaminated materials and surveillance system must be strengthened.
