Cross River State state government has confirmed a case of Monkeypox (M-Pox) in the state from a female in Okoshe village in Obudu local government area
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Egbe Ayuk who made the confirmation said officials have began contact tracing to ascertain where she has been and how many have come in contact with her.
Ayuk said, “The case, a female from Okoshe village in Obudu local government area. She was at Federal Medical Centre, Abakaliki to access care.
“Investigation about her travel history is ongoing, to ascertain what took her primarily to Ebonyi, as there is no medical history or referral from Obudu.
“While the investigation of the travel history of the case is ongoing, the state government is responding actively to mitigate any outbreak in Obudu,” he assured.
Ayuk said he has directed the Mpox Emergency Operation Center to be activated immediately, with the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Ekpo Ekpo as the Incident Manager.
He also directed that mitigation activities by the Obudu local government area response team with support from the state team commence immediately.
Ayuk said the National Reference Laboratory, Abuja, had confirmed the case, saying it was a presumptive diagnosis of Mpox or Chickenpox by the State Epidemiologist of Ebonyi.
He said the sample was sent to the national reference lab and the result returned on Saturday, 24 August 2024, positive for Mpox and negative for Chickenpox.
