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Tag: Monkeypox

  • Abia state records first case of deadly Monkeypox

    Abia state records first case of deadly Monkeypox

    Abia state records first case of deadly Monkeypox

    Monkeypox

    Abia state commissioner for information, Prince Okey Kalu, on Monday, confirmed that the state has recorded its first case of Monkeypox around Isiala Ngwa environs.

    He disclosed this during a press briefing on the outcome of the state Executive Council meeting, held yesterday in Umuahia.

    Kanu stated that out of the 13 recorded in the state, only one tested positive, nine tested negative, while two were awaiting classification.

    He, however, said that there was no casualty yet. He advised residents to maintain personal hygiene and keep social distancing. He said that a treatment centre had already been set up by the State Government at the Abia State University Teaching Hospital, ABSUTH, Aba.

    Adding her voice, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health Dr Agozi Azodo, highlighted the importance of personal hygiene in curtailing the spread of the deadly disease.

    She also advised residents especially farmers to minimize contact with animals.

    The former Director, Federal Ministry of Health, said the State Government was ready to deal with the possible outbreak of the disease, and asked residents to promptly report any suspected case.

    The SA disclosed that the State Government had concluded arrangements to renovate and retrofit 200 primary health centres across the state in 100 days. The project according to her will commence in the first week of September and delivered before December.

  • WHO declares Monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

    WHO declares Monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

    WHO declares Monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

    Monkeypox

    The World Health Organization during a virtual meeting on Wednesday declared the ongoing Monkeypox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency.

    WHO convened the emergency committee amid concerns that a deadlier strain of the virus, clade Ib, is spreading across Africa.

    The disease which was initially reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to previously unaffected countries in Africa.

    WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “The further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying.”

    “The emergency committee met and advised me that the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice,” he added.

    Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security on Tuesday, the first such declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017.

    Africa CDC reported 17,000 mpox cases and more than 500 deaths have been reported in 13 countries in Africa, which classifies the outbreak as a “very high-risk event.”

    The highest number of cases — more than 14,000 — is in the DRC, which reported 96% of confirmed cases this month.

    Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that can spread easily between people and from infected animals.

    It is a communicable disease that can be gotten through touching, kissing, sex, as well as through contaminated materials. The symptoms include a fever, a painful rash, headache, muscle and back pain, low energy and enlarged lymph nodes.

    Mpox is characterized by two genetic clades, I and II. A clade is a broad grouping of viruses that has evolved over decades and is a genetic and clinically distinct group. Clade II was responsible for the 2022 outbreak, but clade Ib causes more severe disease.