The President of ARD-UITH, Dr. Yusuf Muhammedtold the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Monday that people should also avoid contact with dead animals as much as possible.
NAN reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the smallpox outbreak in parts of Africa an international health emergency.
An initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least 450 people and the disease has since spread to areas of Central and East Africa, Pakistan and Sweden.
M-pox is a contagious viral disease that can affect humans and other animals. It is caused by the orthopoxvirus monkeypox, a zoonotic virus of the genus Orthopoxvirus. Symptoms include sore throat, itchy or painful rash, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and fatigue.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease can be transmitted through close contact such as touching, kissing or sex, as well as through contaminated materials such as bedsheets, clothing and needles.
The President of ARD-UITH stated: “Smallpox is not entirely new, but it is common for new strains to emerge at some point. Recently, the WHO issued a warning that the strain currently detected is a new strain.
“The fear is that the antibodies that people have may not be able to protect against it, as was the case with the previous strain. This poses a significant threat to people and everyone should be on guard.”
He described the disease as a viral illness related to the now-eradicated smallpox virus and advised Nigerians not to panic but to report suspected cases to the nearest health authorities where appropriate investigations and contact tracing could be carried out.
“The public should not panic but report cases to health authorities so that contact tracing and proper investigation can be carried out so that people at risk can also be quarantined and preventive measures can be taken,” he said.
He pointed out that the vaccine against smallpox was also effective against M. smallpox, but asked: “How effective will it be on the new strain?” He assured that the association is ready to take all measures, responses and preparations during the COVID-19 pandemic to combat any outbreak in the country.
He said “The ARD at federal level and the UITH are monitoring developments, preventive measures and scientific recommendations in order to evaluate them and make our contribution to the body of knowledge.
“There are currently no clearly reported cases in Nigeria. As for the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the WHO has warned all countries to be on the lookout for possible outbreaks.”
