Bayelsa Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu, on Monday dismissed reports that two new cases of monkeypox disease have been detected in the state.
Etebu said the two cases were not fresh but old ones.
He added that blood samples sent for confirmatory tests at the World Health Organisation’s reference laboratory in Dakar, Senegal, returned in batches.
“The additional two positive results, though not a new outbreak, will bring the total recorded cases in the state to five.
“The World Health Organisation in September confirmed three cases of monkey pox disease in Bayelsa,” he said.
The commissioner added that the epidemic has been contained, while 21 patients isolated at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, Yenagoa have fully recovered and discharged.
Etebu said, “I can tell you that many of the patients being monitored and given care at the isolation centre have been discharged.
“But the situation is dynamic and the number keeps changing; I have not looked at the data for yesterday and may not give you information that is accurate,” he said.
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