Sixty people quarantined over monkeypox in northern Nigeria

Sixty people have been quarantined in Nigeria's Northern Kano State after coming into contact with a suspected monkey pox patient.

Kano State Commissioner for Health, Kabul Getso, said one of the symptoms of the disease was noticed in the patient, but suspects the disease is more of chickenpox than monkey pox.

In an interview with the BBC, he denied suggestions that he was downplaying the patient's state. 

He said until the results of a blood sample, sent to the capital, Abuja, for clinical verification, were returned, it remains a suspected case.

Dr. Getso says 11 of Nigeria's 36 states are affected by the monkey pox outbreak and 94 persons are the victims, out of which only six are confirmed.

Earlier this month a health official in the southern state of Bayelsa was quoted as saying that the virus could be found in monkeys and all bush animals such as rats, squirrels and antelopes. 

Health Authorities in Nigeria have been warning the public against eating monkeys and bush meat for the past few weeks. 

SOURCE: BBC NEWS
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