Bayelsa confirms 13 cases of monkeypox

Bayelsa State Ministry of Health has confirmed 13 cases of monkeypox in the state.

Director of Public Health in the state Ministry of Health, Dr Jones Stow said the viral disease is more prevalent in males than females.

Stow who noted that monkeypox causes skin rashes which develop into bigger sizes of blisters particularly on the face region, resulting in scars on the face, highlighted that at the emergence of the disease in the country, the preventive measures were; proper handling of food while cooking; fumigation, and setting death traps for rodents which are major carriers of the disease.

He also said that the government is working assiduously to mitigate the spread of viral disease in the state.

Stow said; 

“The state government has been doing a lot to ensure that everybody in Bayelsa knows that we have a menace which is monkeypox. However, we are creating awareness.

“We have gone to the communities where we have confirmed cases of monkeypox to do an active search, going from household to household to check for the people that have the syndromes of monkeypox in order to transfer them to an isolation centre.”