Lara Adejoro
Nigeria has recorded 67 confirmed cases of Monkeypox from 1,031 suspected cases in 23 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
The Director General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, who disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, added that the agency was collaborating with ports health authorities “to prevent the importation of Clade I of Mpox into the country.”
The states with confirmed cases are Akwa Ibom (eight); Enugu (eight); Bayelsa (six); Cross River (five); Benue (four); Plateau (four); Delta (four); FCT (three); Imo (three); Lagos (three); Rivers (two); Abia (two); Osun (two); Anambra (two); Ogun (two).
Others are Kaduna (one); Gombe (one); Edo (one); Niger (one); Ebonyi (one); Nasarawa (one); Kebbi (one); and Oyo (one).
The NCDC DG said the agency was optimising surveillance in states to ensure accurate detection.
Idris noted, “We are working with the port health authority to prevent the importation of Clade I of Mpox into the country, the port health authority is also working with border states to ensure prevention of the clade into the country.
“We have laboratories across the country but not all of them have the same capabilities to test Mpox. So, we are optimising our laboratories to detect so that we don’t have to carry samples across states. We are also involved in awareness creation.”
Mpox is a rare viral zoonotic disease, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans and between humans. It is endemic in parts of Africa, especially in the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa.
Transmission from animals can occur through direct contact with infected animals, such as monkeys, squirrels, and rodents, or their body fluids. Human-to-human transmission is primarily through direct contact with an infected person or contaminated materials.
Mpox presents with symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, weakness, swollen lymph nodes, and a distinctive rash that usually starts on the face and spreads to other parts of the body. The rash can also affect the palms, soles, and genital areas, making sexual contact a possible route of transmission.
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