Mpox spreads to Rivers as government confirms two cases

Mpox is an illness caused by the “monkeypox virus”, which spreads when people come in contact with surfaces touched by a person with the disease

By Kehinde Okeowo

The Rivers State has joined the list of states in Nigeria battling the deadly Mpox infection.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, made this known on Tuesday at a conference in Port Harcourt, where she confirmed two cases.

She said, “Recently, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control stated that there are 39 confirmed cases of Mpox across the country.

“Out of this number, Rivers State has two confirmed cases of Mpox.”

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Oreh went on to inform people living in the state that the government has put its Public Health Emergency Operations Centre on high alert to respond to further emergencies.

“We have deployed our medical teams to respond to all emergencies at the healthcare level, general and specialist hospitals,” she said.

The commissioner further said  her  ministry has engaged and trained ad hoc staff to monitor and effectively combat the infection.

“The ad hoc staff now can respond to this infection at all levels of our healthcare pillar,” Oreh added.

Mpox is an illness caused by the “monkeypox virus” which spreads between people mainly through close contact.

It can also spread when people come in contact with surfaces that have been touched by a person with the disease.