Borno State has announced the outbreak of Monkey Pox in the state with three of the four suspected samples sent to the National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, confirmed positive.

The Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Lawi Mshelia, yesterday told journalists that “two of the cases were reported from the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, UMTH, where they are currently receiving treatment, while the other patient was reported from Biu local government area in southern Borno.

According to the Director, one of the patients had been discharged from the hospital about a week ago.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has embarked on sensitisation programme to ensure enough awareness enhanced prevention of epidemic-prone diseases including monkey pox, Cholera, and COVID-19 pandemic.

WHO Northeast Emergency Manager, Dr. Richard Lako in a statement said the team (community health champions) was also engaging with communities to avail themselves of COVID-19 vaccination, saying “it remains important that no individual should be left out from receiving COVID-19 vaccination.”