Latest report gives an outlook of Nigeria’s Monkeypox disease outbreak
Latest report by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) disclosed that a total of 15 states across the country have been hit by the country’s latest Monkeypox outbreak.
Data showed 76 cases of the disease have been reported in 2018 out of which 37 have been confirmed resulting in one probable and two deaths. NCDC’s report showed the worse hit by the outbreak are males within the age group of 21- 40 years with median age of 31.
The states affected are; River, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Oyo, Abia, Anambra, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Of all the states affected, Rivers accounted for with 34 cases, Bayelsa (20) and Cross River (9). The report also identified a cluster of six suspected cases with epidemiological link to a United Kingdom (UK) case in Rivers.
The Public Health England (PHE) had reported two cases of monkey pox to the NCDC, which were confirmed in the UK on September 7 and 11, 2018 in individuals with recent travel history to Nigeria.
Commenting on the outbreak, NCDC’s CEO, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said investigations and contact tracing were ongoing in the UK and Nigeria. He added that the NCDC is collaborating with the PHE to investigate and strengthen further control measures on the two cases so far confirmed in the UK.
It would be recalled that in 2017, there were nine new cases out of which two were confirmed. A total of 115 confirmed cases have been reported from September 2017; four probable cases from September 2017; seven deaths and 17 states with at least one confirmed case including FCT.
Also, 26 states have reported at least one suspected case including FCT, while two health workers have contracted the infection.