By Ogenyi Ogenyi, Uyo
Concerns are rising in Akwa Ibom as eight cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in multiple local government areas. The affected areas include ONNA, Uruan, Ikot Ekpene, and Mkpat Enin.
Speaking during an awareness tour in Uyo on Monday, the State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Mkpoutom Mkpoutom, said the agency has broadened its scope to include health awareness, with current efforts focused on the monkeypox outbreak. He confirmed that those infected have been quarantined in government hospitals.
According to Mkpoutom, the outbreak began in ONNA, where six family members contracted the virus before moving to Uyo, which led to further spread across the state. “Six family members in ONNA were first infected before they migrated to Uyo. That is how monkeypox spread to other parts of the state, especially neighboring council areas,” he explained.
The state government has collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO) to contain the outbreak, Mkpoutom noted, though he added that there is currently no cure. Health centers across the state’s 31 local government areas have been mobilized to monitor and control the spread.
The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Augustine Umoh, assured residents that the situation is under control and urged the public to remain calm. “No one should panic. The state government is working hard with the United Nations to contain the outbreak,” he stated.
Those infected are being treated at an isolation center, and contact tracing is ongoing to prevent further spread.
