No specific treatment for monkey pox infection, NCDC warns
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control – NCDC has said there are no particular treatments available for the monkeypox infection.
NCDC also urged Nigerians to take effective measures to prevent contracting the disease.
According to the World Health Organization, Monkey Pox is endemic to West and Central African countries, and has surfaced in some European countries.
The NCDC has earlier noted that 15 out of the 46 suspected cases reported had been confirmed in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Portugal, Spain, Israel, Lebanon and Canada among others.
In a statement released last week, the WHO noted that the outbreak of the monkeypox disease is being discovered in countries where it is not endemic.
“The NCDC is on it. The centre is doing all it takes in terms of surveillance, response and it is also putting in place certain measures to mitigate the spread.
“Just like we have the Lassa fever, the monkeypox is endemic to Nigeria but we have our agencies like the NCDC when it comes to response and I can assure you that they are totally on it,” the minister said.
Prof Marycelin Baba, a virologist at the University of Maiduguri, in an interview with The PUNCH also affirmed the NCDC’s claims, calling for caution.
Baba said, “Monkeypox is said to be a mutation from smallpox. There was no treatment for smallpox during its time. The only breakthrough was when the smallpox vaccine was introduced. This means that if you were lucky to get vaccinated with the smallpox vaccine during your time, you can be a bit safe.
“Unfortunately, most people were not born during the time the world suffered from the smallpox pandemic. Smallpox was eradicated many decades ago.
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“One of the problems we have in Nigeria for instance is the absence of sufficient diagnostic kits for viral diseases. If you cannot even diagnose, how do you want to treat the problem? I am not too sure if we still have smallpox vaccines anymore in the world but as it stands, the only solution right now is vaccine. Without vaccines, I am sorry we are not going to reach anywhere.”
