From: ‘Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Ogun State Government has said contrary to the media report credited to Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) listing the state as one of the states affected by Monkey Pox, the state has no incident of the viral disease.
The State Commissioner for Health, Babatunde Ipaye, while briefing newsmen on Tuesday in Abeokuta, expressed surprise at the report and blamed a surveillance officer of the health ministry in the state, who he described as “overzealous” by reporting the case to the Federal Ministry of Health without proper examination.
According to Ipaye, the officer from the State Hospital, Ijebu Ode, had noticed skin lesion on a patient who was at the hospital for another primary reason, adding that the case was not qualified as a suspected case in the first instance.
The Commissioner further explained that the distribution of the rashes on the patient was never suggestive of Monkey Pox, adding that no due process was completed before the case was reported.
Ipaye, however, added the state was not averse to reporting one or cover up the case but cautioned that the state must not also set people panicking by things that do not exist.
“It was very surprising as the State Commissioner for Health and the Chief Epidemiologist of the state to hear that Ogun State was listed. We have not incidented any confirmed case of Monkey Pox in the state, Ogun state doesn’t have a single case.
“Yes, there was an overzealous officer of the Ministry who saw somebody with skin lesion at the State Hospital, Ijebu Ode and unfortunately called the Federal Ministry of Health and incidented a suspected case.
“Any patient in the category of that patient that was incidented can not be considered as a suspected case because the patient has another primary problem that can give rise to skin lesion, that is not a suspected case.
“Further questioning was even very revealing that the skin lesion the patient had was not even suggestive of Monkey Pox but more of another skin lesion and the screening revealed that it negates the entire report itself.
“We are not averse to reporting one, if there is a case, and we are not willing to cover up a case but we must also not sent people panicking for things that we do not have.
“We have seen, classically, the distribution of rash in Monkey Pox, which tend to be more on the face and symbolically at the palm and the sole of the feet. This patient has neither of those and when we did a secondary screening, we discovered that there’s even a primary reason why the patient had the rash.” Ipaye submitted.
Meanwhile, the health commissioner said the government will continue to engage in public awareness, to prevent prevent the spread of the disease to the state.
He also urged the residents in the state to maintain high level of hygiene noting said the state was ready to accommodate any confirmed case in any of its isolation centers.