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Northern Bahr el Ghazal state has reported monkeypox-related symptoms in two children, and say the samples have been flown to Juba for laboratory screening.
The state minister of health Dr Riiny Riiny Dau told the press in Aweil town on Tuesday that a 4-year-old child was identified with symptoms related to viral disease.
“We have suspected cases of Monkey- Pox. There are sporadic cases of suspected cases of food poisoning.”
According to him, a sample was taken from the child and sent to the National Laboratory for Public Health in Juba for testing.
“It will be confirmed actually when the samples are taken to Juba lab, normally we take samples and then we send them to Juba we have teams which is making investigation.
“I want to reassure the population in Northern Bahr el Ghazal that we don’t have an outbreak.’
Thomas Dugan Guot, the State Surveillance and Neglected Tropical Diseases coordinator says all the processes have been taken regarding the suspected monkeypox.
” All the procedures have been taken regarding the suspected monkey-pox. We investigated it and samples were collected for the first case of suspected monkeypox. The sample was collected and sent to Juba.
“Currently, we have one sample in the hospital one sample for monkey-pox,” he said
Meanwhile, the Director of Preventive Health services Dr. Riing Yak Chan says they activated surveillance in the state and direct communities to report cases similar to that of chicken pox in children to the nearest health facilities.
“They should report to any nearby health facility or reach us in the state Ministry of health so that we can take more samples from there.
“We have also activated all the infrastructure of surveillance and the RRT teams in the county and state levels.”
Monkeypox is a virus that causes disease with similar but less severe symptoms to smallpox, including fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
Transmission can occur through physical contact with an infected animal. Animal hosts include rodents and primates.
The WHO advises avoiding unprotected contact with wild animals, especially those that are sick or dead. In endemic countries where animals carry monkeypox, any foods containing animal meat or parts should be cooked thoroughly before eating.
Also, the disease can spread from person to person.
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