The Plateau government says it has recorded two positive cases of monkeypox in Shendam and Bassa local government areas.

Health commissioner Nimkong Lar disclosed this on Thursday in Jos.

He said the patient from Shendam was treated and discharged while the patient from Bassa was responding to treatment.

According to Mr Lar, the ministry embarked on health education to sensitise the populace about the monkeypox outbreak.

He explained that the sensitisation was on the importance of imbibing the act of hand washing and maintaining good hygiene as measures of containing the disease.

He also cautioned health workers to ensure they used personal protective equipment (PPE) while treating infected persons to avoid the spread of the disease.

The disease is primarily transmitted from animal to man, while the secondary source of transmission is through human to human contact.

Mr Lar called on Plateau residents to report any sign of unexplained rashes to the nearest health facility and urged them to drink only potable water, wash fruits and vegetables properly and shun open defecation.

He stated that the measures were to avoid the spread of gastrointestinal diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.

Mr Lar also called on the residents to promptly report cases of stooling and vomiting to the nearest health facility.

(NAN)