The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bayelsa

Bayelsa sets up special court to prosecute payroll fraud

Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has authorised the establishment of special court to fast track the prosecution of those indicted in the payroll fraud in the state civil service.

Recalls that Dickson had set up a prosecution team following staff verification exercise that uncovered 5, 000 ghost workers in Bayelsa public service.

The governor spoke on Thursday in Yenagoa, when he addressed members of the Committee on Public Service Reforms.
He said that government had alerted the Commissioner of Police and had constituted a committee to prosecute those inflicted in the fraud.

The nine-man judicial commission is headed by Justice Doris Adokeme.

“We have contacted the Commissioner of Police on the need for prosecution. I can assure you that no innocent person would be affected.

“That is why the Judicial Commission of Inquiry is there. Anybody who has a case, anybody who feels he is not fairly treated has the chance to go there.

“The prosecution team is waiting and the courts are waiting to commence action soon,” Dickson said.

The governor reiterated his resolve to do everything necessary to stop the bleeding of the state finances by some greedy unscrupulous elements.

Recalls that a staff audit constituted in May 2016 to probe the payroll fraud in the local government system discovered 3,243 unauthorised employees in the Rural Development Authorities, and 3,037 in the eight constitutionally recognised local government areas.

Dickson lamented that the probe into the entire public service had uncovered widespread corruption costing the state about N1 billion every month.

Dickson ordered the compilation of the names of the alleged salary fraudsters, during one of the meetings with the committee chaired by the Deputy Governor, retired Rear Adm. Gboribiogha John Jonah.

According to Dickson, the first practical step towards implementing the painstaking reforms, is that those discovered to be drawing salaries from multiple agencies of the state, would stop receiving their pay with effect from October.

Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, Commissioner for Information and Orientation, confirmed this in a telephone interview that full action on the committee’s report would commence soon.

“We are talking about fraud perpetrated over the years that has made the state to lose billions of Naira.

“So if the governor, who demonstrated the courage to take on this evil, is making moves to prosecute them, then it should not be a surprise,’’ Iworiso-Markson said.

NAN

October 19, 2017
Military not involved in vaccination – FG

Federal Government on Wednesday said the military is not involved in any monkey pox vaccination as presently rumoured.

The rumors had spread like wildfire that the military was injecting monkey pox virus to people in their medical outreach across the country.

The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole said this when he briefed State House correspondences at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He was with the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu and the Special Adviser to the President on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina.

According to him, the eleven states are Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa and Rivers.

While stressing that outbreak was confirmed in Bayelsa, he said that out of the 19 samples tested, 3 tested positive from Bayelsa 12 tested negative from Bayelsa, and 4 tested negative from Lagos.

He explained that the military medical outreach has never harm anyone and in some cases involved in road construction and other services.

He said “Council also received an update of the public health of the nation. We informed Council about the latest development with respect to the Monkey Pox virus outbreak. So far, as of today, there are 74 suspected cases in 11 states of the country. We have confirmed three in Bayelsa state, We are still expecting the results of other ones.

“We are also doing advance test in NEDE, that is the African Centre of Excellence for Genomes and Infections Disease to really understand the genomes of this virus. Even when they are negative, the laboratory attendance should be able to tell us what exactly they are. We will also be able to locate and identify the origin so that we can take adequate precaution.” he said

On the military vaccination rumors, he said “It is also important to use this opportunity to dispel the rumour circulating in the country that the military is vaccinating people and trying to spread monkey pox across the country. The military is not involved in any vaccination exercise and I must also really educate the Nigeria people about how vaccination campaigns are done.

“Federal will take the lead but we do not conduct campaign without involving states. So, there is no way we will do campaign for vaccination without working with the states and it is the state that will be in front and we provide support.

“The rumour that federal is involved in monkey pox vaccination campaign is not true. And as of today, we are only doing vaccination campaign in three states against other diseases.

“We are doing vaccination campaign against yellow fever in Kwara and Kogi because of yellow fever outbreak in some parts of the country. We are also doing cholera vaccination in Borno state and so anybody carrying the rumour, please help us educate Nigerians that it is not true. We are not vaccinating anybody, we plan to do missiles campaign very soon and we will also do yellow fever before the end of the year and we will let you know.

“You will never find Federal staff conducting vaccination campaign without the support and active participation of the state ministry of health, this is just to correct the misconception.” he stated

Asked whether he was disowning the military over the issue, he said “With respect to what the military is doing, I spoke about vaccination and not about military campaign. The military as part of a campaign of winning over the heart and soul of the people havel got engaged in several things. In the past, the military was noted of even constructed roads, the military will do outreaches, measure blood pressure, talk to people. These are normal things, I referred only to vaccination.

“We had to request for the assistance of the military in Borno state to reach inaccessible area with respect to the polio campaign so we have worked with the military in the past and we will continue to work with them.

“There are doctors in the military, there are nurses and when you go abroad, some of the best institutions abroad are those ones managed by the military. So we cannot disown the military. But what I want to put across is that the military is not involved in any vaccination.” he said

On the report of illegal traffickers of kidney, he said “With respect to the harvest of organs we received advice periodically from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, from National Security Adviser about goings on around the world. One of which is the harvest of organ illegally and it is our duty to alert Nigerians that this is ongoing, they should be careful, they should seek advice, they should patronize only accredited institution.

“And as we rebuild our health infrastructure there will be less need for anybody to travel out and so we spare Nigerians the agony of falling victims of some of these illegal practices.”

Speaking on the growing drug abuse among the youth, he said “We are quite aware of this. Abuse will take several forms. Abuse of substances that are smuggled into the country in higher doses than normal. For example we have metadol and tramadol and even Viagra being smuggled into the country. Look at the dosage, the Viagra dosage is three times normal and when you look at the tramadol it is three to four times normal and once NAFDAC officials come in contact, they are impounded and destroyed.

“We are also working with the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria to educate people about the abuses. We are aware of the abuse of cough mixture because of the content and we are working hard in respect to this.”

Stressing that Nigeria is part of the campaign against tobacco, he said that the country is implementing the framework convention in tobacco control.

“As of Monday we were part of the ECOWAS meeting to look at how do we raise taxes on tobacco. That meeting we really worked to prevent smuggling on tobacco products, we looked at how we can raise taxes on tobacco products. It is known that Nigeria has one of cheapest tobacco prices in the world and that will contribute to the abuse. That convention and recommendations coming from there will really contribute to raising taxes on tobacco and also generating resources that will go into health.

The Minister of Water Resources disclosed that the Council also approved the sum of N236 million for the completion of Sabke dam in Katsina state.

He said “One Memo from my ministry was considered today as part of our efforts to improve the hethrege for irrigation, we have been committing ourselves to completing many of the irrigation projects we inherited in the past two years. One of such is the Sabke irrigation project. This is a project that started as far back as 1997 during the PTF days but was abandoned and then reawarded in 2009, completed 95 percent by 2012 and again abandoned.

“When we came into office, I commissioned a technical audit of all the ongoing project and n the ministry and because of the status of that project having attained 95 percent completion, it became a priority project because it was a low hanging fruit for us to complete.

“Unfortunately, when the contractor was mobilised to site, we found out that a lot of component of the irrigation project had been vandalized and for us to be able to put that project into effective use, we now have to do a lot of rehabilitation works and we therefore brought a memo seeking Council to give us an augmentation of about N280m for us to be able to complete the work 100 percent and make it fit for the purpose and Council considered and approved this memo.”

October 18, 2017
Monkey Pox cases increase to 74 in 11 states – FG

The Monkey pox virus outbreak has spread to 11 states with 74 suspected cases recorded, Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole has said.

Adewole made the disclosure in Abuja on Wednesday when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

President Muhammadu Buhari chaired the meeting held at the State House Council Chamber, Abuja.

The Federal Government, on Oct. 11 confirmed that 33 suspected cases of the virus were recorded in seven states.

Monkeypox is a rare viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms in humans similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although less severe.

Smallpox was eradicated in 1980. However, monkeypox still occurs sporadically in some parts of Africa.

The minister, who updated the Council on developments in respect of the outbreak, listed the affected States as Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa and Rivers as well as the FCT.

“The Council also received an update on the state of the public health of the nation. We informed the council about the latest development in respect of the Monkey Pox virus outbreak. So far as of today, there are 74 suspected cases in 11 states of the country.

“We have confirmed three from Bayelsa and 12 of the suspected cases from Bayelsa tested negative; four suspected cases from Lagos tested negative. We are still expecting the results of the other ones.

“We are also doing test at the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Edeh, to really understand the genomics of this virus.

“Even when they are negative, the laboratory attendant should be able to tell us what exactly they are,’’ he said.

The minister dismissed the assertion that the military was spreading Monkey Pox virus through vaccination.

He said that the military was never involved in any vaccination in the country, adding that any vaccination must involve state governments and the Federal Ministry of Health.

“It is also important to dispel the rumour circulating in the country that the military is vaccinating people and trying to spread Monkey Pox across the country.

“The military is not involved in any vaccination exercise.

“And I must educate Nigerians about how vaccination campaigns are done. The Federal Government will take the lead but we do not conduct campaign without working with states.

“So, there is no way we will do campaign without working with the states,’’ he said.

The minister announced that his ministry was conducting vaccination in only three states of the federation, namely Borno, Kwara and Kogi.

He stated that the cholera vaccination was being conducted in Borno while that of Yellow Fever vaccination was being carried out in Kwara and Kogi.

He stated that the ministry would soon start vaccination against measles while a nationwide vaccination against Yellow Fever would commence before the end of the year.

Also addressing the correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, the Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, revealed that the Council approved N236 million for the completion of Sabke Irrigation Dam in Katsina State.

He said the contract for the dam was initially awarded in 1997, re-awarded in 2009 after it was abandoned, but would now be completed by the current administration.

NAN

October 18, 2017
Monkey pox vaccination scare hits Edo, Bayelsa

Pandemonium ensued in many private and public schools in Edo and Bayelsa states yesterday following rumours that government had deployed army personnel to inject students with monkey pox virus.

Parents stormed the schools to forcibly take their children and wards home.

Some of the affected schools in Edo were Army Day Secondary School, Idia College, Oghosa High School, Edokpolor Grammar School, Crystal Fountain Group of School and Olua Primary School,all in Benin.

The parents claimed they heard that army personnel were injecting students with the virus.

The army denied any such vaccination.

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in a separate statement, denied the existence of any harmful vaccination in the country.

It assured “all parents, guardians and care-givers of globally confirmed safety, potency and effectiveness of all antigens in the National Immunization Schedule against vaccines preventable diseases in the country and the vaccination is free in all public health institutions.”

Monkey pox had been reported in some states including Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Lagos and Ogun, although the situation has since been brought under control.

The Nation gathered that efforts by the authorities of some of the schools to persuade the parents and guardians against taking away their children/wards home fell on deaf ears.

The authorities of Olua and Emokpae primary schools simply locked the gates to prevent parents from getting in until the close of academic work for the day.

A parent who identified herself simply as Mrs. Chiazor said: “I came to school because I heard that the killer vaccine was already at the Oredo Local Government Secretariat for onward transmission to schools.”

Asked where she got the information from, Mrs. Chiazor replied: “It was on the radio. Children also died in Anambra after they were vaccinated.”

Edo State police spokesman, DSP Moses Nkombe, who confirmed the rush by parents to take away their children, said there was no vaccination in schools in the state.

Nkombe warned parents to stop acting on fake information from the social media.

Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Communication and Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said there was no reported case of Monkey pox infection in the state.

Crusoe said steps had been taken to tackle the disease if there was any occurrence.

He said there was no vaccination exercise currently going on in the state.

The panic in Bayelsa State was sparked by a rumour that the Army was conducting an immunization exercise as part of its ongoing Operation Crocodile Smile II in the Niger Delta.

Some residents of Yenagoa, the state capital, claimed that they had information that some people in army uniform were injecting students with poison under the guise of vaccination for Monkey Pox pandemic.

Some teachers hurriedly shut down their schools and sent the children home.

Some schools were closed as early as 10am with children scampering home before the ‘arrival’ of the supposed immunization officials.

In some schools, parents reportedly scaled the fence to take their children home.

A resident, Mr. Morris, said his daughter was hurriedly brought back to him by her teacher, wondering why the army would commence a medical exercise without adequate sensitisation.

Another resident, Amasoya Jacob, claimed there was pandemonium in his Onopa community in Yenagoa as some unidentified men in military uniform stormed schools in the area to inject children with an unknown vaccine.

Investigations revealed that parents also besieged St. Jude Secondary School in Amarata clamouring to take their kids home.

The parents, who reportedly met the gate of the school locked, waited outside and called on the school management to release their children.

Seven people – five males and two females- were almost lynched at Zarama in Yenagoa, by a mob that accosted them following suspicion that they were immunization workers.

The seven turned out to be sales promoters for a beer brand on a promotion visit to the area.

They were beaten, stripped and dragged before the community leader.

They were only saved by the police who were tipped off.

It was gathered that the police took them to their station in the area for further interrogation.

The state government immediately issued a statement suspending all forms of medical outreach programmes in public and private schools across the state following the vaccination scare.

Information and Orientation Commisioner, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, and his health counterpart, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu, said at a joint press conference that government would monitor the situation and ensure strict compliance.

Iworiso-Markson asked school authorities to verify the identity of anyone coming to their schools for any reason whatsoever.

He described as deliberate the misinformation the development which had led to the panic and withdrawal of students by parents from schools.

Etebu said: “I want to say that there is no vaccination against ‘MonkeyPox’. So proprietors of schools should not allow any stranger to come and administer such on their pupils. Anyone dressed in Army uniform, clinical or lab cloth injecting children should be reported.”

“The rumour is unhealthy and we condemn it. As a government we are on top of the case and we will get to the root of where this falsehood emanated from.”

The spokesman of the 16th Brigade of the Army, Yenagoa, Capt. Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, said separately that the military was not conducting any vaccination exercise in the state.

Danjuma said the military community relations activities like medical outreaches scheduled as part of the Operation Crocodile Smile II had not started.

“When the time comes, the targeted recipients will be well informed. Members of the public should always verify information before acting,” he said.

The Federal Government, through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said that there was no harmful vaccination in the country.

The agency in a statement signed by Mr. Saadu Salahu, Head, PR Unit, said: “The attention of the Federal Government has just been drawn to rumours circulating in parts of the South East concerning vaccination perceived to be harmful to children.

“The Federal Government wishes to state clearly that there is no such vaccination in any part of the country that is harmful to any child in Nigeria.

“Most importantly, the Federal Government wishes to re-assure all parents, guardians and care-givers of globally confirmed safety, potency and effectiveness of all antigens in the National Immunization Schedule against vaccines preventable diseases in the country and the vaccination is free in all public health institutions.

“It must be re-emphasised that the Federal Government`s annual budgetary allocation, release and cash-backing of huge resources for the provision of safe and potent vaccines is a practical manifestation of its commitment to the safety, growth and survival of Nigerian child.”

October 14, 2017
Bayelsa to augment funding of primary education

The Bayelsa Government has pledged to augment the funding of primary school education to end ongoing strike by teachers in the state.

Mr Martins Fefegha, outgoing Commissioner for Education, announced the plan on Thursday at the handing over ceremony to the new Commissioner for Education, Mr Jonathan Obuebite, in Yenagoa.

Teachers in public primary schools in Bayelsa have been on strike for more than six weeks in the state.

Although the new academic session began in September, the teachers refused to go back to their duty posts in protest over alleged non payment of 10 months salary arrears.

Fefegha noted that the state government’s resolve to augment primary school funding which had been the constitutional responsibility of the local governments.

According to him, the state government’s decision follows the dwindling resources at the disposal of the local government councils.

He said that the state government observed that the current revenue profile of councils was not sufficient to pay primary school teachers leading to backlog of unpaid salaries.

Fefegha, now redeployed to Ministry of Mineral Resources in a minor cabinet reshuffle, handed over to Obuebite, who until the development was in charge of Information and Orientation.

Speaking at the brief ceremony, Obuebite said the state government had declared a state of emergency in the education sector and had injected about N55 billion in the sector since 2012.

According to him, the state government is determined to give more priority to the education sector.

He said that under his watch, the welfare of teachers and capacity building would receive adequate attention.

He also assured that the state government was poised to clear the backlog of salaries owed to primary school teachers in the state.

NAN

October 13, 2017
NDLEA arrests 38 suspects in Bayelsa for illicit drugs

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA ), Bayelsa Command, on Wednesday, said it arrested 38 drug suspects and seized 29.751 kilogrammes of illicit drugs in the state in September, 2017.

The command’s Principal Staff Officer and Superintendent of Narcotics, Osakwe Ikenna, gave the figure in a statement in Yenagoa.

Ikenna stated that the suspects included 26, male adults and 12, female offenders.

He said that the illicit drugs seized from the suspects comprised cannabis sativa, psychotropic substances, heroin and cocaine.

Ikenna said that statistics of arrest and seizure investigations showed high rate of abuse of psychotropic substances especially tramadol by both old and young people in communities across Bayelsa.

The NDLEA official expressed concern over the high rate of abuse of tramadol in the state by women and youths.

He said the command successfully counseled more than 25 substance dependent persons in Bayelsa from July to September 2017.

According to him, the trend in the consumption of tramadol and other psychotropic substances in the state was alarming.

He said that the State Commander of the agency, Abdullahi Abdul, would convene stakeholders meetings and rallies to sensitise the residents on the dangers of consumption of illicit drugs.

Ikenna appealed to parents and guardians in the state to keep watch over the activities of their children and wards to ensure that they were not misled or pressured into illegal drug use.

He appealed to the people of Bayelsa to ensure vigilance over illegal drug activities in their communities.

He also urged them to report such activities to the state command for further action with full assurances of confidentiality.

NAN

October 11, 2017
Monkey Pox: 7 patients recover fully in Bayelsa

Seven out of the 13 monkey pox patients on admission at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri in Bayelsa have fully recovered, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, has said.

The commissioner said in a statement on Wednesday in Yenagoa, that the seven patients had been discharged from the hospital.

The contagious disease broke out three weeks ago in Agbura area of Yenagoa following reports that a family manifested symptoms of monkey pox after eating monkey meat.

He said the six other patients under medical surveillance at the teaching hospital were responding positively to treatment.

“The government has been able to successfully contain the spread of the disease as no new case has been reported in the last few days.

“With the way and manner government deployed its machinery and with the team of dedicated health and medical personnel, monkey pox will soon be fully kicked out of Bayelsa state,” he added.

Iworiso-Markson commended the state Ministry of Health and National Centre for Disease Control for their efforts in containing the disease.

The commissioner also appreciated people in the state for taking preventive measures against further spread of the disease and urged them to maintain healthy lifestyle, environmental and personal hygiene.

According to him, feedback received from various channels in the state indicates that public enlightenment campaign, especially in local languages, have succeeded in alerting people to avoid actions that would further spread the disease.

NAN

October 11, 2017
Kwara begins sensitisation at hospitals, LGAs

The Kwara Ministry of Health says it has commenced sensitisation at health facilities and the local government areas across the state on the monkeypox disease.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Sulaiman Alege, told journalists on Monday in Ilorin, that the education unit of the ministry has swung into action.

”We have commenced sensitisation through our education units, both at health facilities and the local government areas.

”This is to make people aware of the virus because some people haven’t heard about it before.

”We also want them to be aware of the symptoms to watch out for to prevent any outbreak of the virus in the state,” Alege said.

Early last week, there was an outbreak of monkeypox disease in Bayelsa.

The source of the infection is having contact with animals, such as monkey.
The disease was first identified in laboratory monkeys, hence its name, but in its natural state, it seems to infect rodents more often than primates.

NAN

October 9, 2017
Monkey pox: Bayelsa sets up response team

The Bayelsa State Government on Friday set up a 12-member rapid response team consisting of top medical practitioners and public health experts following the outbreak of Monkey pox, a viral disease, in the state.

The government also inaugurated other sub-teams with the mandates to prevent the spread of the virus and trace possible victims of the virus.

The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebimitula Etebu, who set up the committees, reassured the citizens that the epidemic was under control, adding that there was not need to panic.

He said 13 suspected cases were at different stages of recovery at the makeshift isolation ward in the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Okolobiri.

The commissioner said over 50 suspected victims were being followed at various places in the state, insisting that the situation was not beyond control.

He, however, implored the people to observe the simple habit of hand washing and gave some boxes of hand sanitizers to the team entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the disease.

Etebu said: ”At present, as we speak, we have 13 suspected cases at different stages of recovery following treatment at the makeshift isolation ward at NDUTH, Okolobiri. There are also over 50 persons being actively followed at differently located places in the state.

”And this is in order to quickly detect any new cases following exposure to suspected cases. The state Ministry of Health, with the support of the international community led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), international partners and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have since embarked on enlightenment campaigns.

”Active disease surveillance has also been carried out, case management and other sundry measures have also been carried out in a bid to halt the spread of the disease in the state.

”New suspected cases are being reported everyday in the state. The situation can get out of hand if critical measures are not quickly put in place and that is why we have thought it expedient to inform the public.”

October 6, 2017
MonkeyPox: Symptoms and Facts

If you have been watching the news or reading online lately, you’d have heard of a disease outbreak in Bayelsa called “Monkeypox”.

You might be quite familiar with a similarly named disease- chickenpox, and perhaps smallpox.
“Monkeypox, however, must sound quite strange to you.

Here are 5 facts about Monkeypox you should know:
#1: It can affect humans.
Even though it is named after monkeys, it can affect humans. The reason behind its name is that it was discovered among monkeys in Denmark in 1958.
In 1970, it was first reported among humans when a 9 year old boy in the Democratic Republic of Congo was found to have contracted the disease.

#2: It is caused by a virus that can be deadly.
Monkeypox is a disease caused by a viral infection. The monkeypox virus is in the same genus as smallpox and cowpox.
The virus can cause an illness in humans that can be fatal.
Monkeypox causes death in less than 10% of people that are infected with it. If you were wondering why I used “less” in my last statement, let’s compare this mortality rate with that of smallpox or ebola virus.

Although smallpox has been eradicated from nature, its common form killed about 30% of people infected. Also, it caused facial scars on upto 80% of people who had it.

Ebola virus, is several times more deadly than monkeypox. The last outbreak in West Africa killed more than 50% of people who got infected.

Monkeypox can lead to death in humans but has a far lower mortality rate than smallpox and ebola.
#3. It starts with a fever.
Now, don’t panic. Not all fevers in Bayelsa state are monkeypox, malaria is still the most common cause of fevers in Nigeria.
However, 7-14 days after a person is infected with monkeypox, the person would start showing signs and symptoms.
Some signs and symptoms of monkeypox are:
Fever
Headache
Muscle pain
Back pain
Enlargement of lymph nodes
Body weakness
1-3 days after the fever starts, a rash develops. The rash is known to start from the face, and then spreads to other parts of the body.
The illness usually lasts about 2-4 weeks.

The symptoms are quite similar to smallpox. One difference though, is that monkeypox has significant enlargement of lymph nodes, while smallpox doesn’t have that as a characteristic feature.
Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped structures that make up an important part of the immune system.
#4. It can be gotten from rodents.
Apart from monkeys, the monkeypox virus has been isolated in rodents like rats and squirrels.
The primary method by which human outbreaks start, is when a person comes in close contact with an infected animal.
In rural areas, infected rodents can be hunted and then eaten, hence, increasing the likelihood of a human outbreak, especially if the meat isn’t thoroughly cooked.

It can also be spread from person-to-person. How? By close contact with an infected person.
Close contact with respiratory secretions like sneeze and cough droplets, can lead to the spread of the monkeypox virus.
Also, contact with an infected person’s blood, body fluids, rash and clothing can spread the virus.
This is why it is important for infected people to be identified and quarantined. In the current outbreak in Bayelsa, a medical doctor and some others have been quarantined and kept in isolation wards to prevent the spread of the disease.
#5. It can be prevented.
This is the good news. Monkeypox can be prevented.
At the moment, there is no specific treatment or vaccine available for this disease, however, you can protect yourself from getting infected by following these:
Avoid close contact with infected persons or animals.
Ensure you cook meat thoroughly.
Practice hand washing optimally
Health workers should use gloves and personal protective equipment.

Conclusion:
The current outbreak of Monkeypox in Bayelsa is not something you should panic about. However, you should ensure you follow the necessary preventive measures and you should be fine.

Dr Chales-Davis is a medical practitioner and founder of 25 doctors, a platform where you can get health information and chat with doctors online

October 6, 2017