The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, made this known in a statement issued by Mrs Boade Akinola, Director, Media and Public Relations of the ministry, on Thursday in Abuja.
Adewole said the patients suspected of having monkey pox in the state were quarantined, while supportive treatments were being offered to the victims.
According to him, Monkey pox could not be confirmed until laboratory investigations by WHO referral laboratory in Dakar, Senegal, says so.
“Investigation is still on-going and our partners are working with us on this reported outbreak, while the NCDC team in Bayelsa state would give support,” Adewole said.
ALSO READ: No cause for alarm over outbreak of ‘monkey pox’ virus —Bayelsa Govt
The minister therefore called for calm on the reported suspected cases of the disease in the state.
He however assured Nigerians that monkey pox was milder and had no record of mortality.
He said that monkey pox was a viral illness by a group of viruses that included chicken pox and small pox.
“Anyone with symptoms of monkey pox should immediately report to the nearest health facility, while health workers are advised to maintain a high index of suspicion and observe safety percussion,’’ the minister said.
He said that the virus was mild, as there is no known treatment and no preventive vaccines hence the public should be at alert and avoid crowded places as much as possible.
The minister also advised the public to avoid eating dead animals, bush meat and particularly bush monkeys.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bayelsa Government on Thursday allayed fears of possible epidemic following the outbreak of a contagious viral disease called “monkey pox” in the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu, told NAN in Yenogoa that the state government was on top of the situation.
Etebu said that the government had contained the outbreak and commenced public sensitisation to curtail spread of the virus.
He disclosed that 11 persons, including a medical doctor, had been quarantined at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Okolobiri, Yenagoa Local Government Area.
He said samples of the virus had been sent to the World Health Organisation reference laboratory in Dakar for confirmation.
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