Janet Ogundepo To further reduce the spread of the monkeypox virus, m-pox, the Association of Resident Doctors at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Kwara State, has warned Nigerians to avoid eating improperly cooked bush meat. The association, speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria, through its President, Dr Yusuf Muhammed, also advised that the public minimise contact with dead animals. He further stated that resident doctors in the state were prepared to deploy all response measures used during COVID-19 to tackle any eventual outbreak in the country.
Muhammed’s warning follows the World Health Organisation’s declaration on August 14, identifying the outbreak of m-pox in parts of Africa as a public health emergency of international concern. The WHO notes that Mpox is a viral infection caused by the monkeypox virus, which spreads between people through close contact, such as touching, kissing or sex, as well as through contaminated materials like bed sheets, clothing and needles. It causes painful rash, flu-like symptoms, enlarged lymph nodes and fever.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Mpox occurs mostly in Central and Western Africa and occurs in humans and other animals. Although a global outbreak occurred in 2022-2023, the WHO declared the disease a public health emergency following the death of 450 people during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the disease spread to Central and East Africa, Pakistan and .