Monkey pox: FG confirms 3 cases, one commits suicide in Bayelsa

By Ajuma Edwina Ogiri Abuja and Joy Emmanuel, Yenagoa-

Th e federal government yesterday said the three suspected samples of the deadly monkey pox virus sent to Senegal for testing have been confirmed, just as one of the victims of the viral disease committed suicide in Bayelsa state.

The Bayelsa victim allegedly took his life yesterday at the quarantine centre in Yenagoa, located in the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, in Yenagoa local government area of the state.

Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, who confirmed this yesterday, said federal government sent the samples for analysis at the World Health Organisation (WHO’S) laboratory in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, after about 31 suspected cases were reported in seven states with Bayelsa having the highest number.

Adewole had announced on October 11 that the Centre for Disease Control had taken samples for laboratory analysis at the Redeemed University in Ede, Osun state, and in Senegal.

The minister urged Nigerians not to panic, saying even if the cases turned out to be monkey pox; there are two types of the disease; Central African and West African, explaining that the West African one is not deadly.

While addressing journalists in Yenagoa on the Bayelsa victim, the Commissioner for Health, Ebitimitula Etebu, said the deceased, whose name could not be given, was among the 21 suspected cases of the virus that were being managed at the teaching hospital.

He said the deceased’s medical history did not suggest any mental illness or features of depression, maintaining that the patient did not die from the disease, and explained that the police and his family had been duly informed and all due diligence was being followed to ensure the safe burial of the victim.

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