The Ebonyi State Government has confirmed the outbreak of monkeypox disease in the state.
Ebonyi Commissioner of health, Dr Daniel Umezurike made the confirmation in Abakaliki on Tuesday while handing down the true position of the outbreak.
Dr Umezurike disclosed that a 32-year-old male farmer, who hails from Ugwulangwu in Ohaozara Local Government Area and a resident of Abakaliki, was said to have travelled to Rivers State, and returned to Ebonyi on the 7th of July, 2022.
Upon examination, he was found to have developed fever, maculopapular rash, sore throat, headache and generalized weakness of the body following which a presumptive diagnosis of monkeypox was made.
While urging residents not to panic, the health commissioner said a close monitoring of the situation is ongoing, stressing that at this time there is no cause for alarm.
The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo when efforts were intensified to eliminate smallpox with a fatality rate of 1% to 10%.
Currently, Nigeria has 60 confirmed cases in 19 states of the country. According to Dr Umezurike, all relevant departments in Ebonyi State have been activated to coordinate the outbreak’s investigation and response across the 13 LGAs in the state.