The Federal Government has mounted surveillance at the points of entry into the country to forestall the outbreak of monkey pox in Nigeria.
Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, disclosed a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday
The disease is not currently in Nigeria,he said
He emphasized the need for Nigeria to be more proactive in the prevention of the disease, adding that the outbreak of the disease if left unchecked, would likely affect the population of Nigerian farmers and significantly would lead to low agricultural production and productivity.
The outbreak of monkey pox disease had been recently reported in Europe and the Americas.
According to him,epidemiological investigations so far revealed travel links to endemic areas as the cause of the outbreaks.
He added: “Monkey pox is a zoonotic infectious disease which was first detected in 1958 in monkeys, rodents are now seen as possible means of transmission of the disease to man and animals. Monkey pox is primarily a disease of non-human primates like Chimpanzees.
“It is a self-limiting disease with symptoms of bump rashes in humans which is usually mild and lasts between 2-4 weeks with 3-6% fatality rate. The disease is transmitted through close contact with infected person or animal and material contaminated with the virus.
“The main means of transmission is usually due to spillover from animals, man to man transmission is less common. The disease clinically resembles smallpox.”
Abubakar identified some of the identified risk factors to include hunting, illegal trade in wildlife, handling of wildlife in wildlife markets.
Speaking on the measures put in place by the Federal Government to prevent the outbreak of the disease in Nigeria, he said:”The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is working assiduously in collaboration with relevant sectors and stakeholders to intensify surveillance in the animal population and at the points of entry for wildlife as well as creating awareness among hunting communities and the general public on prevention of the disease.
He advised Nigerians “to avoid contact with animals that could harbour the virus including animals that are sick or found dead where monkey pox occurs; avoid contact with any material such as bedding that has been in contact with a sick animal; practice good hand hygiene such as the washing of hands and the use of alcohol based sanitisers after contact with infected animals or humans.”
