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

The commissioner for Health, Dr Nimkong Lar disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Jos on Thursday.

According to him, while the patient from Shendam was treated and discharged, the other from Bassa was responding to treatment.

According to the commissioner, the ministry has embarked on health education to sensitise the populace to monkey pox outbreak.

He said it is important for the people to imbibe the act of hand-washing and maintain good hygiene as measures of containing the disease.

Lar also cautioned health workers to ensure they used Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the treatment of infected persons to avoid the spread of the disease.

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

He called on the citizens to report any sign of unexplained rashes to the nearest health facility and further cautioned that the public should ensure they drink potable water, wash fruits and vegetables properly and shun the act of open defecation.

Lar said the measures were to avoid the spread of gastrointestinal diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.

He also called on the members of the public to report promptly the cases of stooling and vomiting to the nearest health facility.