The Red Cross Society in Enugu State has commenced the training of 200 surveillance and risk communication officers following an outbreak of Mpox disease in two local government areas of the state.
Speaking during a two-day training in Enugu yesterday, the State Epidemiologist, Okechukwu Ogbodo, revealed that about 29 cases were reported, out of which 8 were confirmed after their samples were taken to Abuja for examination.
He said, “We have 29 suspected cases of Mpox in Enugu State. That is those that are presented with clinical signs and symptoms of Mpox. We sent all of them to the laboratory and 8 of them came back as confirmed cases.
“Six of them were found in Enugu South while two of them were found in Nkanu West. That’s why we are engaging the public about it.”
Ogbodo noted that the state government has been proactive in tackling the disease as it has started training healthcare workers to be able to identify the disease when they occur. He added that the state government has mapped out some cottage hospitals in different locations where suspected cases would be managed effectively.
On his part, the Branch Secretary of Red Cross in Enugu State, Tony Udegbu, said that the 200 volunteers were trained in partnership with the Ministry of Health as part of efforts to kick Mpox disease out of Enugu State.
“What we are doing today is to train surveillance officers and risk communication officers to combat MPox in Enugu State. We are working together with the ministry of health. We cannot do it alone, that is why we are partnering with the ministry of health to train 200 surveillance and risk communication officers to storm the state to ensure that Mpox is kicked out of the state,” he said.
