Cross River debunks cases of monkey pox

CROSS River State Government has debunked reports of active cases of monkey pox in parts of the state.

The Director General of the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency ( CRSPHDA), Dr. Janet Ekpenyong, made the clarification in a telephone interview, as she refuted reports by some online media platforms in the state.

Ekpenyong, who described the reports as rumours, said so far there was no active case of monkey pox in any of the 18 councils of the state, noting that with a well- constituted health awareness and sensitisation team on ground, the state government was ready to detect and manage any related cases.

She, however, disclosed that two cases were detected in February, and were properly managed by the state government.

“We only had two cases in February which were well managed by the state government. We also traced those they had contacts with so that we could be sure of a pandemic- free state.

“As of today, May 16, 2022, there’s no active case of monkey pox in Cross River State. We have tried every avenue to ensure that the state manages every symptoms of monkey pox, especially in those council areas where we have recorded cases in the last few months. We have intensified surveillance as we actively search for people, who visit our health facilities with similar symptoms and those reported by relatives.

“Not withstanding, we won’t relent in our efforts to prevent the spread of the disease since we are aware of how transmittable it can be with a lot of people coming into Cross River from states where there are active cases even in the month of May,” she said.

The DG urged residents not to panic but to maintain good personal and environmental hygiene to assist government in fighting diseases.

Monkeypox is caused by bites from animals or direct contacts with rodents like rats, rabbits or contaminated foodstuffs from these animals and it’s easily transmittable from human to human.