The Rivers State government has officially reported two confirmed cases of the deadly Mpox infection within its jurisdiction. According to Drivetvnews, this announcement was made by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, during a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, August 20.
Dr. Oreh revealed that the state has activated its Public Health Emergency Operations Centre to a higher state of readiness to handle any potential emergencies related to the outbreak.
“The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control recently reported 39 confirmed Mpox cases nationwide. Of these, Rivers State has two confirmed cases. We have mobilized our medical teams to address emergencies at all levels of healthcare, including general and specialized hospitals,” Oreh stated.
She added that the state government has put in place an incident management plan specifically for Mpox and has allocated resources to track and manage all reported cases throughout the state. Additionally, the Ministry has recruited and trained temporary staff to oversee and manage the response to the infection.
“The ad hoc staff are now equipped to handle this infection across all levels of our healthcare system,” Oreh noted.
Drivetvnews further explains that Monkeypox, referred to as Mpox, is caused by the monkeypox virus. It is primarily spread through direct contact between individuals but can occasionally be transmitted from contaminated objects and surfaces.