26th August, 2024
By Christian Njoku
The Cross River Government said it has ordered for immediate activation of the Mpox Emergency Operation Center after one case of the infection was confirmed in Okoshe community in Obudu Local Government Area of the state.
Cross River Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Ayuk revealed this while confirming the detection of a case of Mpox in the state.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC) had some days ago reported confirmation of a case in the state.
However, Ayuk who initially denied the claim by NCDC told journalists in Calabar on Sunday, said that the National Reference Laboratory in Abuja confirmed the presence of Mpox in one patient in Obudu.
According to him, Cross River Ministry of of health was alerted to a possible case of Mpox or chickenpox on Aug.19 by an Ebonyi Epidemiologist.
”The patient, a female resident of Okoshe village in Obudu, sought medical care at the Federal Medical Centre in Abakaliki.
“Her test sample was sent to the National Reference Laboratory, and the result, which returned on Saturday, Aug. 24, confirmed Mpox and ruled out chickenpox,”Ayuk said.
The commissioner said that the state government was working to prevent a possible outbreak in the area.
“While we are still investigating the patient’s travel history, the state government is taking immediate action to contain any possible spread in Obudu,” he assured.
The commissioner said the ministry had ordered for immediate activation of the Mpox Emergency Operation Center to strengthen the response.
He said Dr Ekpo Ekpo, Special Adviser to Gov. Bassey Otu on Health, has been appointed as Incident Manager.
He also directed the Obudu LGA response team to collaborate with the state health team to mitigate efforts immediately.
The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Cross River appealed to the state government to enhance surveillance measures, citing the state’s vulnerability to such outbreak.
(NAN)
