People in the Anambra State capital, Awka have been advised to report unexplained rashes to nearest medical centres without delay. The advice was handed down by Mrs Charity Okoye, a Senior Nursing Officer at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Awka, (COOUTH), Anambra.
Okoye, who works at the pediatric emergency ward of COOUTH, made the call during a presentation at the Rotary International District 9142 Club of Awka Smith Town fellowship.
The senior health officer, who entitled her presentation “All you need to Know about Monkey Pox,” urged parents to watch their children closely for any dark rashes on their bodies.
She defined Monkey pox as a viral disease caused by monkey pox virus transmitted to human from infected animals, most commonly rodents.
“ It is a disease that can causes flu-like symptoms and rash, it is a viral zootomic disease, a virus transmitted to humans from animal with symptoms in human similar but less severe to those seen in the past in small pox patients ,” she said.
According to her, Anambra is yet to receive any report of Monkey pox case and advised that high level environmental and personal hygiene will keep off the possibility of the virus report in the state and country at large.
Okoye said that its name was given from the species that was initially isolated from and was first identified in humans in 1970 in the democratic of Republic of Congo in a nine-month old boy.
She explained that the disease was mostly found in West African countries, saying Nigeria recorded two human cases in 1971 and 1978.
Okoye added that the virus could also be transmitted from animal to human, human-to human and from contaminated environment to human.
“The virus enters the body through broken skin, the respiratory track or the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose or mouth,” she said.