The National Orientation Agency, or NOA, from a place called Akwa Ibom State, wants to teach people about a disease called Mpox. They want everyone to know how many people are getting it and learn how to stop it from spreading.
Why are they doing this? Well, because some smart people at the Ministry of Health found out that eight people in Akwa Ibom State are sick with Mpox. That’s a lot compared to other places.
A leader named Mr. Mkpoutom Mkpoutom told everyone about this news when he was talking to reporters in a place called Uyo on a Monday.
He shared that 10 places in the state have people getting sick from Mpox.
The people working with Mr. Mkpoutom have already been visiting these places. They are telling families how to stay safe from Mpox. If someone has a fever, headache, spots, or sores, they should see a doctor quickly.
Mr. Mkpoutom is telling people not to eat meat that isn’t cooked well. Also, they should keep clean, and keep where they live clean too.
He said, “Everyone should know that our state, Akwa Ibom, has the most people with Mpox. My team is already working after the Ministry of Health gave us a signal last week to help with the Akwa Ibom State Agency on Health Matters.
“There are 10 local government areas in trouble. Places like Uyo, Onna, Mkpat Enin, and Ikot Ekpene are having the biggest problems. This puts Akwa Ibom high on the list for Mpox issues in the whole country.
“This is serious for the people of Akwa Ibom, and we want everyone to know about it. Doctors say there is no medicine to cure Mpox. We can only help manage the sickness.”
Mr. Mkpoutom talked about Onna LGA, where six people from the same family caught Mpox. He asked people in Akwa Ibom to tell a doctor if they find anyone getting sick.
“Please, everyone should report if someone gets sick like this. Don’t treat all rashes (Krokro) as something small; sometimes it’s not. Mpox can move quickly from one person to another. At first, we thought monkeys spread it. But scientists found it also spreads through rats, and bush meat can make it spread, too. Once it’s in one person, the whole family can get it.
“In Onna, six people from one house got sick. They moved to Uyo before health officers could reach them. Because of this move, Mpox spread more in Uyo, making it the second biggest hot spot.”
Right now, people who got sick are staying apart from others so they can’t spread Mpox. The health team is trying to trace and find everyone they touched.