Nigeria has recorded 40 confirmed cases of Monkeypox (Mpox) from 830 suspected cases in the country, saying that no death has been recorded so far, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said.
Meanwhile, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS) after a 160% increase in cases this year.
However, the World Health Organisation Nigeria (WHO) Country Representative, Walter Mulombo has disclosed that Nigeria will be receiving some doses of the Mpox vaccine through a donation from the United States Government while stressing that Nigeria is at moderate risk of the disease outbreak.
Speaking on Friday in Abuja at a joint WHO National Mpox briefing with stakeholders and partners, the NCDC Director-General (DG), Jide Idris said the use of two laboratories for confirmation of suspected cases has now become inadequate, necessitating the inclusion of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the African Center for Genomics.
He said the agency is not relenting on its responsibility to keep a tab on the issue, stressing that an Emergency Operations Centre and an Incident Management System have been established since the Mpox was declared a public health emergency of international concern.
This is in addition to impressing State governments on the urgency of establishing their own emergency preparedness and response team’s capabilities and action plans
“Right now we have 40 confirmed cases, out of our 830 suspected cases. We still do not have deaths. We have no deaths at all, which is incredible.
“We’ve met with the state governments and the state Commissioners of Health to let them know that they deserve to establish their emergency preparedness and response teams and capabilities and action plans, which we do with their support, and they are going to do that in conjunction with their various local government areas.
On the need to increase laboratory capabilities, especially in the South-South, and the South-East areas, he said, “The other area is surveillance. Looking at the number of cases we have in the country, about 40, quite a number of them are in about 12 or 13 states.
Speaking on the issue, WHO’s Mulombo noted that the country must not relax its vigilance against the disease even as the country is at a moderate risk of the outbreak.
