Blood samples from the first 13 suspected patients of the virus were dispatched to the WHO facility three weeks ago for a confirmatory test following a clinical diagnosis of monkeypox by medical doctors in Bayelsa State and officials of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

One of the patients receiving treatment for the virus at the quarantine center in Bayelsa State reportedly committed suicide, state government officials said on Monday.

The victim allegedly took his life on Monday at the makeshift quarantine center at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.

Addressing reporters on Monday evening in Yenagoa, the State Commissioner for Health, Ebitimitula Etebu, stated that the deceased was among the 21 patients receiving treatment at the teaching hospital.

Dr. 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 his rapid recovery from the virus, noting that the deceased’s medical history did not suggest that he had suffered from any mental illness or depression.