Akwa Ibom State has recorded four confirmed cases of monkeypox from January to August 2024.
The Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer, Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Health, Samuel S. Etuk, disclosed this on Wednesday, during the Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria’s Media Partnership Strengthening and Review Meeting in Uyo, the state capital.
Etuk stated that out of the four cases, two came from Uyo, one from Nsit Ubium and the other one from Onna local government areas of the state. She said the age brackets of the three males affected were 2, 4 and 15.
He said Mpox is a viral zoonotic infectious disease (i.e., disease of animals transmitted from animals to humans) and does not have any specific treatment at the moment.
Etuk, who spoke on the “Role of the Media in Mpox Public Health Emergency Response,” said: “In Akwa Ibom, we have four confirmed cases and those cases have been managed so far, so we have some preventive measures; we should carry out hand washing exercise regularly; we are supposed to go to the hospital when we have signs and symptoms; we should not have self-medication.
“The Mpox virus can spread both from animal to human and from human to human. Animal-to-human transmission may occur by direct contact with the blood, body fluids, skin or mucosal lesions of infected animals. There is no specific treatment for the virus, so people should be cautious of physical contact and maintain personal hygiene. Journalists should enlighten the public on our behalf because their voices can reach where ours cannot.”
In her remarks, the Program Officer, Social and Behaviour Change, BA-N, Nkoyo Umoh, charged the media to amplify the message of the need for adherence to proven infection prevention and control measures as spelt out.
Umoh noted that through effective media engagements, the perceptions and behaviour of the people towards Mpox disease would be changed for the better.