The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed 67 cases of Monkeypox out of 1,031 suspected cases across 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
At a media briefing in Abuja, NCDC Director General Dr. Jide Idris revealed that the agency is working with ports health authorities to prevent the importation of Clade I of Mpox.
The affected states include Akwa Ibom and Enugu with eight cases each, followed by Bayelsa, Cross River, and others.
The NCDC is strengthening surveillance in states to ensure precise detection and response to the outbreak, with confirmed cases reported in 23 states.
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 and infectious disease that can spread from animals to humans and between people. It is commonly found in certain parts of Africa, particularly in the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa.
The disease can be transmitted through direct contact with infected animals, such as monkeys, squirrels, and rodents, or their bodily fluids.
Human-to-human transmission occurs primarily through direct contact with an infected person or contaminated materials.
Symptoms of Mpox include fever, headache, body aches, weakness, swollen lymph nodes, and a distinctive rash that typically starts on the face and spreads to other parts of the body, including the palms, soles, and genital areas, making sexual contact a possible transmission route.
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