Cross River State Ministry of Health has announced that a case of monkeypox (Mpox) had been verified in the Okoshe community, Obudu Local Government Area of the state.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Egbe Ayuk, made this known on Saturday in Calabar, stating that a report from the National Reference Laboratory in Abuja confirmed the Mpox case from Obudu.
He further informed that the ministry was, on August 19, notified of a presumptive diagnosis for Mpox or Chickenpox by the state’s Epidemiologist of Ebonyi.
“A sample was sent to the national reference lab. The result returned on Saturday, August 24, positive for Mpox and negative for Chickenpox.
“The case, a female is from Okoshe village in Obudu Local Government Area. She was at Federal Medical Centre, Abakaliki to access care,” he added.
The commissioner further said that investigation about her travel history is ongoing, to ascertain what took her primarily to Ebonyi, as there is no medical history or referral from Obudu.
“While the investigation of the travel history of the case is ongoing, the state government is responding actively to mitigate any outbreak in Obudu,” the commissioner assured.
Ayuk said he has directed the Mpox Emergency Operation Centre to be activated immediately, with the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Ekpo Ekpo, as the Incident Manager.
He also directed that mitigation activities by the Obudu Local Government Area response team with support from the state team to commence immediately.
Nigerian Tribune learnt that some of the mitigation measures the commissioner mentioned, include line-listing of symptomatic contacts; quarantine of close/symptomatic contacts at General Hospital, Sankwala-Obanliku; sample collection from symptomatic contacts, immediate movement of samples to the state hub, sensitisation on preventive measures and awareness at churches, schools, communities and immediate movement of commodities to General Hospital, Sankwala, among others.
As a long term measure to check any spread of the disease, Ayuk noted that plans are underway for monthly financial support to surveillance teams in the local government areas for active case search at health facilities and communities across the state, supportive supervision by the state and local government areas’ teams, establishment and equipment of an isolation ward in all government hospitals and positioning of case management, provision of infection prevention and control commodities in all councils, as well as health promotion and advocacy on personal hygiene.
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