Moneypox Virus: Nigeria Warns Against Eating Monkeys, Bayelsa Medics Monitor 40 People

Monkeypox is a rare smallpox-like disease Image credit: Alamy

Health authorities in Nigeria have warned the public against eating monkeys and bushmeat after 10 people contracted suspected Monkeypox in the southern Bayelsa State, Nigeria newspapers are reporting.

Monkey meat is a delicacy in some communities in Nigeria Image credit: AFP

BBC Africa Live report continues:

Health Minister Isaac Adewole said in a statement that investigations into the outbreak was still ongoing.

He added that despite no known cure for the disease there was no cause for alarm because the virus was mild.

However, he advised the public to take preventative measures:

The virus was mild and there was no known treatment and no preventive vaccines hence the public should be at alert and avoid crowded places as much as possible."

Mr Adewole said that medical samples had been sent to the World Health Organization centre in Senegal's capital, Dakar, for further tests.

He said the disease was a viral illness by a group of viruses that included chickenpox and smallpox.

Monkeypox is a rare but usually not fatal to humans.

Yesterday a health official in Bayelsa was quoted as saying that the virus could be found in monkeys and all bush animals such as rats, squirrels and antelopes.

However, the Medical Director of the Niger Delta University hospital in Nigeria's southern state of Bayelsa spoke to reporters about the reported Monkeypox cases. Dr Dimie Ogoina told BBC that the hospital was treating 13 infected patients, among them are three adults and one child, who had also been quarantined.

The hospital was working with the Nigerian Centres for Disease Control, which had sent a team from the capital, Abuja, to visit the hospital, he said.

They were currently monitoring more than 40 people in Bayelsa who had had contact with the quarantined patients, but none had so far shown any symptoms, he added.

Mr Ogoina also sought to allay fears, urging members of the public not to panic.

His hospital and staff were well trained and adequately prepared for a scenario like this, he said.