The Nigerian airwaves and social media space were recently greeted with the news stories on the outbreak of the monkeypox virus. According to recent reports from the Nigeria Centre for Disease for Disease Control (NCDC), the virus which started few weeks back with an index case in Bayelsa State – the Niger Delta region was ferried to Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with more than 31 cases.
It is worthwhile to note that if conscious and assiduous measures were not taken throughout the 36 states of the federation, the outbreak that started out as a child’s play could have culminated into a serious national epidemic.
The first human index of the monkeypox virus attack was first reported in far-away Democratic Republic of Congo in monkeys in 1958 and in humans in 1970 when intensive and concerted efforts were made to eliminate small pox which had physical semblance with the monkeypox.
The index outbreak in Bayelsa state was traced to some villagers, which had a feast on monkeys that were apparently carriers of the virus. However, against widely held beliefs, research has proven that monkeys are not the sole carriers and transmitters of the virus, as majority of cases are traced to transmissions from rodents and also direct person-to-person contact or through blood and other infected blood fluids.
The viral attack has an incubation period of few days, after which the carrier begins to have such symptoms as headache, fever, nausea, back pain and in advanced cases, rashes with skin eruptions and pores of larger sizes than those triggered by the chicken pox virus.
Although there have been no registered case of death so far in Nigeria due to the virus attack, it is pertinent to note that the malnourished and children suffering from lung disease and those with a history of a compromised immune system stand more at risk compared to their healthy counterpart.
Suffice it then to say that since there is no commercially available vaccine or treatment for monkeypox at the moment, it better for government and individulas to draw inspiration from the manner Ebola virus was handled – with all amount of seriousness and urgency it required.
One can clearly remember that weeks and months Ebola Virus held sway in and out of Nigeria, one thing was foremost- medical practitioners were up and doing. On the other hand, everyone was a stakeholder in a bid to combat the virus and at the end, everyone won. Same level of consciousness and proactiveness should, therefore, be employed once more; while the medical practitioners and scientists should be all bent on finding a solution to the problem.
Private individuals and organizations are implored to keep their surroundings clean and safe to make it uninhabitable for rodents and other pests to live and transmit the virus.
More importantly, it is advisable to keep alcohol-based hand sanitizers within the reach of everyone- at the entrance, exits of public offices and in homes. Henceforth, washing hands regularly with soap and running water should form a common habit among the people. There is need to wear protective clothing while contacting sick animals and infected persons.
Furthermore, health personnel and governments are strongly advised to liaise with World Health Organisation (WHO) to find an urgent and lasting solution to this and other outbreaks in future.
Together, Nigerians will win the war against monkeypox and other viral attack.
