By Bill W. Cooper
The Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), Dougbeh Chris Nyan, says the Monkeypox virus is not as deadly as Ebola and COVID-19 viruses.
Amidst fear from the public over the severe nature of the Monkeypox Virus,
Dr. Nyan cautioned Liberians to observe all precautionary measures to prevent its spread, ensuring that the virus that has not been tagged a death sentence is curtailed because it can still cause serious illness in some cases.
He made the disclosure yesterday, when he officially took over as the Director General of NPHIL long with his Deputy Director General for Administration, Adams Lincoln in Paynesville.
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that is transmitted to humans from animals, particularly rodents and primates, as the virus causes symptoms similar to smallpox, including fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes among others.
The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by a coronavirus of zoonotic origin -SARS-CoV-2-, that emerged in Wuhan, China, by the end of 2019, and was rapidly declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
SARS-CoV-2 is most likely of bat origin, similar to its predecessor SARS virus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2003 while the main transmission route is via respiratory droplets.
But prior to the lockdown in Wuhan, China, COVID-19 rapidly spread within China, and also globally with Liberia being of no exception following the direction of connectivity and high air passenger volumes.
While the Ebola was declared a public health emergency in 2014 in West Africa, and again in 2018 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but in the pantheon of emerging infectious diseases, Ebola virus stands out as one of the deadliest.
The Zaire species of Ebola kills somewhere between 40 to 90 percent of its victims, and usually upwards of 60 percent of infected people die, and only a handful of infectious diseases can claim such high death rates, including rabies, pneumonic plague, and inhalational anthrax, as about 14,000 deaths due to Ebola were recorded in 2014.
On the average, COVID-19 is not associated with the highest case fatality rate compared with other emerging viral diseases such as SARS and Ebola, but the combination of a high reproduction number, super spreading events and a globally immunologically naïve population has led to the highest global number of deaths in the past 20 decade compared to any other pandemic.
In a conversation with journalists after officially taking over, the NPHIL Boss also emphasized the importance of taking precautions to prevent the spread of Monkeypox across the country.
He advised people to avoid contact with sick animals, particularly rodents and primates as well as affected individuals, to wash their hands regularly with soap and water coupled with avoiding consuming of bushmeat among others.
Dr. Nyan also announced that NPHIL in collaboration with its partners and the Ministry of Health (MOH) are closely monitoring the Monkeypox also known as the Mpox virus for any changes.
He explained that viruses can mutate over time, potentially becoming more dangerous or more easily transmissible, and added, “Because by observing the virus strains, we can better understand how the virus is evolving and take appropriate measures to prevent its spread.”
Dr. Nyan further assured that NPHIL is working closely with other health agencies including internationally to monitor and respond to the Mpox virus, emphasizing the importance of early detection and rapid response in preventing its spread.
It can be recalled that NPHIL announced that since the beginning of 2024, Liberia has recorded five confirmed cases of the Mpox virus in three counties and in recent times, new cases were confirmed in neighboring countries like Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.
Though NPHIL did not name the counties in Liberia affected by the disease for proper awareness, it revealed that it was informed of an outbreak of Mpox in several countries of the WHO African Region, mainly in Central and West Africa.
The Mpox outbreak has been determined by the WHO to be a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR).
NPHIL said it will heighten its surveillance system, strengthen its outbreak preparedness plan along with the Health Ministry to activate measures and specific response mechanism so as to address any impending outbreak of the virus in Liberia.
