Nigeria records six cases of MonkeyPox and one death in May
Nigeria has recorded a total of 21 confirmed cases of MonkeyPox with one death in nine states and the FCT.
This is according to the latest report by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The centre said that Nigeria’s risk of exposure to the Monkeypox virus is high based on the recent risk assessment it conducted.
NCDC in its latest epidemiological summary on Monkeypox which was published on Sunday evening disclosed that since January 2022, Nigeria had continued to report high cases of the disease.
In the report, it was stated that as of May 29, a total of 21 confirmed cases with one death have been reported from nine states and the FCT – Adamawa (5), Lagos (4), Bayelsa (2), Delta (2), Cross River (2), FCT (2), Kano (2), Imo (1), and Rivers (1).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) earlier reported that Monkeypox is an uncommon disease caused by infection with the Monkeypox virus, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the Poxviridae family. According to the World Health Organization – WHO, the disease originated from West and Central African countries. The disease has however, been reported in other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy.
The NCDC said that among the 21 cases reported so far in 2022, there had been no evidence of any new or unusual transmission of the virus, nor changes in its clinical manifestation documented (including symptoms, profile and virulence).
NCDC also mentioned that a National Technical Working Group (TWG) was set up with the responsibility of monitoring infections and strengthening preparedness and response capacity.
NCDC said that genomic surveillance was ongoing at NCDC’s National Reference Laboratory in Abuja and so far, all of the cases have been confirmed to be caused by the West African clade Monkeypox virus.
“The TWG coordinated the development of national Monkeypox guidelines, capacity building of healthcare workers and surveillance officers on case detection, sample collection, laboratory testing for confirmation and sequencing of the virus at NCDC’s National Reference Laboratory,” it said.
