No Need for Panic on Monkey Pox - Bayelsa Govt

MONKEY POX: NO NEED FOR PANIC, BAYELSA GOVERNMENT ASSURES CITIZENRY  

BEYELSA INAUGURATES RAPID RESPONSE TEAM ON MONKEY POX
...RELEASED HOTLINES TO COMBAT OUTBREAK

The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Health has inaugurated a six man committee of top medical professionals is the state to prevent the spread of the suspected monkey pox disease in the state.

The State Commissioner for Health, Prof Ebimitula Etebu, who inaugurated the committee reassured the citizens that there was not need to panic.

He stressed that the situation was not beyond control but restated the need for people to observe the simple hygiene of washing hands.  

Etebu alongside the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Markson Iworiso, said that the government was embarking on practical steps to ensure that the disease was prevented from spreading.

The two commissioners urged the citizens to report all cases of unusual rash to the medical facilities for necessary  action.

The government urged the citizenry to call two dedicated lines, 08066987752, 08035474676, to report cases of the suspected virus.

The governor also handed over some boxes of hand sanitizers to the team entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the disease.

The Chief Medical Director of Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital where 11 cases of the virus were being handled, Prof. Dr. is Ogoina, said that a doctor who was infected and an 11 year old were treated and discharged.

According to him, the others are responding to treatment.

It was the position of the top management of the health system in Bayelsa that the State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and other agencies were effectively handling the issue.

The government emphasized the need for awareness creation in the bid to effectively arrest the disease and appealed to the media for the usual cooperation.
Fidelis Soriwei