Monkey Pox: Woman Bitten By Monkey In Ondo Makes Residents Vulnerable

A middle-aged woman (with undisclosed identity) was bitten by a monkey in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, exposing over 3.4 million residents of the state to “Monkey Pox” infection.

CityMirrorNews investigation revealed that the woman was bitten by a monkey, which was one of their domestic pets, when trying to feed it on Saturday.

According to a reliable source, who lived in the victim’s neighbourhood but pleaded anonymity said, “she did not take the monkey bite so seriously not until Sunday evening when she started feeling some pains and discomfort.

“We thought it was a whitlow because the spot started developing some blisters and pus within but when she started complaining, her friends and family then advised her to visit a nearby government health centre for proper treatment or minor surgery”.

He added that “when the woman got to the health centre, one of the nurses who attended to her thought it was a whitlow and wanted to operate it, said where the surgical blade is was under locked and keyed.”

According to him, “It was brought to the notice of the Matron in charge of the health Centre who noticed that the affected part was more of a bite than whitlow. The lady now revealed to the Matron that she was bitten by the monkey they rear in her house when trying to feed it.”

Nonetheless, the source noted that the matron of the health centre immediately referred the woman to the State Specialist Hospital, Akure, for further treatment.

When contacted,  the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro for reaction and to know the proactive action taken by the government to curtail the spread of the suspected “Monkey Pox”, Adegbenro said that government was not aware of such.

It would be recalled that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has announced that the disease had spread to Lagos and six other states with cases risen to 31, confirmed monkey as the primary source of the outbreak.