By: Domingo Dargbeh
Email: dargbehdomingo@gmail.com
Congo Town, Monrovia – Contrary to media reports, the Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, has confirmed one case of monkeypox in Liberia.
Speaking at a major news conference on Monday, September 2, 2024, in Congo Town, Dr. Nyan disclosed that the confirmation came twenty-four hours after testing samples from the patient.
He noted that the case is active, confirmed, and managed, and the patient is currently undergoing treatment.
He lamented that the patient is a seven-year-old female from Jleapo, Sinoe County, in Doweken, a rural district in the southeastern part of the county.
The patient has no travel history, and authorities are still working around the clock to identify the actual source of the virus.
The NPHIL boss also disclosed that the mother of the confirmed case is now showing symptoms of the virus and is considered a suspected case.
He further stated that health workers are already on the field tracing multiple contacts who may have come into contact with the confirmed patient, beginning with close relatives.
“We are on top of this and there is no need to panic. With additional equipment and materials available, it will help enhance our work,” the NPHIL boss assured the public.
As part of their proactive drive, Dr. Nyan told reporters that they have set up and announced the Incident Management System (IMS).
The system, among other things, he said, will help coordinate the response across the country.
Moreover, he stated that they are working on obtaining vaccines for both monkeypox and smallpox.
At the same time, he pointed out that they are working in-house to acquire diagnostic kits as part of their capacity development while awaiting support from partners such as the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Africa, CDC USA, and other partners and donors.
Mr. Nyan also termed previous media reports of confirmed monkeypox cases in Liberia as untrue and inaccurate, reiterating that today’s official confirmation is the first.
He clarified that prior to the World Health Organization’s declaration of monkeypox as an international health concern, Liberia had detected six cases. However, those six cases, following health processes, were all declared negative and are now considered suspected cases rather than confirmed.
Providing some history about the virus, the NPHIL boss mentioned that a few cases of monkeypox were detected in Liberia in the 1970s. However, the most recent cases, which have affected other countries, have now drawn international attention, he noted.
He named the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast as recent countries with confirmed cases.
According to him, this issue calls for Liberia to play an urgently proactive role, and NPHIL has been doing so.
“We have students in Rwanda, engage in trade and movement, and have personal interactions in Nigeria. Recently, one of our neighbors, Ivory Coast, has also experienced cases. Therefore, we are playing a very proactive role to help address the situation,” he maintained.
“Initially, we set up surveillance and response mechanisms, assets response at the National Port Authority, the RIA, and other ports of entry as part of our efforts,” he added.
Moreover, as part of their proactive work, the NPHIL head stated that they are making efforts to send teams to other important border points, including Bo-Water Side, Springs Field, Ganta to Guinea, Luguato, Toe’s Town, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, and Maryland Counties, among others.
He reemphasized that the confirmed case was validated by a laboratory test and that the case is isolated.
Dr. Nyan further disclosed that monkeypox is manageable, and so far, from other reports globally, no deaths have been reported.
The recovery period, he said, depends on a person’s immune system, and there are multiple ways to contract the virus.
“There are also different strains, and we don’t know the original source of this confirmed case’s strain, but we are working to address this,” he stated.
At the same time, he mentioned fever, high body temperature, and rashes as some of the symptoms of the virus. However, symptoms must first be tested before official confirmation because there are also multiple types of poxes, including chickenpox and cowpox, among others.
