One of the patients receiving medical care for monkey pox at the quarantine centre in Bayelsa State has committed suicide.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu at a press conference in Yenagoa on Monday said the deceased was among the 21 suspected cases of monkey pox that were being managed at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH).
Mr. Etebu was joined at the conference by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the Chief Medical Director of the NDUTH, Dimie Ogoina, and other senior health officials.
He expressed regret that the patient took his own life despite impressive progress to stem the outbreak by the government. He said the deceased’s medical history did not suggest any mental illness or features of depression.
The health commissioner maintained the patient did not die from the disease, adding that the police and his family had been duly informed and all due diligence was being followed to ensure the safe burial of victim.
Mr. Etebu said that a committee had been put in place to evaluate the deceased’s clinical and social history to shed more light on the tragedy.
He also formally confirmed the outbreak of monkeypox in the state following laboratory evidence from samples sent to the World Health Organisation in Dakar, Senegal.
More to come…
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