According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Nigerians are failing to take preventive measures against the current Monkeypox outbreak.
Dr. John Oladejo, NCDC Director of Health Emergency Preparedness and Response, stated this on the sidelines of the ongoing Second Ibadan Public Health Conference on Tuesday in Ibadan.
According to the Nigerian News Agency, the conference was organized by the University of Ibadan’s Faculty of Public Health in collaboration with the NCDC and the World Health Organization.
“Public Health in a Changing World” is the conference’s tagline.
According to Oladejo, the country’s viral disease outbreak is being exacerbated by bad behavior and a failure to take precautionary measures.
“The main issue in the country in terms of viral diseases is the people themselves.”
“They don’t listen when you give them instructions or protocols.
“There is always a behavioral problem at the community level,” he explained.
Oladejo, on the other hand, stated that the Federal Government has increased surveillance, with immediate actions focusing on training healthcare workers on monkeypox surveillance and response at the state and local government levels.
“In terms of preparedness, we have done a lot of work and activated the monkeypox emergency operations center to strengthen our preparedness and response.”
“We have trained health workers in every state in the union.”
“It was the training we provided that caused the states to wake up and go out on active surveillance, resulting in new cases being treated immediately.”
“In Nigeria, we are using a digital surveillance system and a molecular laboratory to determine the sequencing of monkeypox.”
“We’ve done a lot to make sure we can control and prevent the spread of monkeypox in the country.”
“The prevalence is very low, contrary to popular belief, with 569 cases reported from 2017 to date,” he said.
According to him, several precautions can be taken to avoid infection with the monkeypox virus, such as practicing good hand hygiene and avoiding contact with animals that may harbor the virus.
Earlier, Prof. Godson Ana, Dean of the University of Iowa’s Faculty of Public Health, stated that the conference’s goal was to bring together various stakeholders in the scientific community to share their experiences and provide opportunities for mentoring upcoming scholars in the field of public health.
“The theme speaks for itself; the world is changing, and the majority of that change is affecting communities and populations.”
“The theme is very appropriate and timely, coming at a time when the world is dealing with a slew of public health issues such as overpopulation, insecurity, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and, most recently, the monkeypox outbreak.”
“Public health interventions can affect life expectancy, disease prevention, and outcomes,” Ana explained.
NAN
