Yenagoa, 20 October 2017-World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting the Bayelsa state to scale-up response and rapidly contain further spread as well as debunk rumours linking the Monkeypox outbreak to immunization activities.

 Since the report of the index case in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state on 22 September 2017, 22 additional suspected cases have been reported. Results of samples taken to WHO Regional Laboratory in Dakar, Senegal, confirmed Monkeypox from three (3) of the suspected cases while 46 contacts are being followed-up at  present.

 Today the national taskforce for poliovirus containment in the laboratory met as part of the country’s efforts to maintain its polio free status.  The committee members discussed findings from a field mission reviewing all biomedical laboratories for possible wild poliovirus infectious material while encouraging the destruction of all unneeded materials.  The Ministry aims to strengthen its surveillance system by developing an inventory of all laboratories that retain material which may have potential infectious material.

FREETOWN, October 18 2017 --- When the biggest natural disaster on record in Sierra Leone hit Freetown on 14 August, hundreds of staff and volunteers immediately joined in the response and relief efforts. The scale of the disaster challenged the authorities’ existing resources, particularly for search and rescue. “I played my part.

Lafia,17 October, 2017-The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar lll is assuring parents and caregivers across Nigeria, not to link the outbreak of the Monkey pox to immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases as government and partners, including World Health Organization (WHO) are working to rapidly contain spread of the disease.

HARARE: 10 Oct. 2017  Today Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world to commemorate World mental health day at Lafarge Cement plant in Harare. Lafarge is a cement producing company which has strong policies about their workers’ physical and mental well being  while at work.

On 10 October 2017, the Seychellois Ministry of Health notified WHO of a probable case of pneumonic plague. The probable case is a 34-year-old man who had visited Madagascar and returned to Seychelles on 6 October 2017. He developed symptoms on 9 October 2017 and presented to a local health centre. Based on a medical examination and reported history of recent travel to Madagascar, pneumonic plague infection was suspected and he was immediately referred to hospital where he was isolated and treated.

ABUJA, 16 October, 2017- The Government of Nigeria has launched a campaign to immunize 873,837 people against yellow fever in the states of Kwara and Kogi.

The ten-day campaign began on Friday (13 October) and mobilizes more than 200 health workers and volunteers. It targets residents aged 9 months to 45 years old.

“This campaign aims to ensure that people living in high-risk areas are protected from yellow fever, and to prevent the disease from spreading to other parts of the country,” said Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu, WHO Nigeria Representative.