The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has disclosed that it has 15 confirmed cases of Monkeypox in Nigeria and 59 other suspected cases. This comes days after a Nigerian traveller was hospitalised for the disease in the United States.
The information was disclosed by the NCDC Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, on Tuesday in Abuja. He urged that Nigerians who feel ill should report to a hospital for diagnosis, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
What the NCDC boss said
Dr Ihekweazu said that the agency has been working closely to monitor the disease in Nigeria and would declare it an outbreak if a large number of cases is reported.
“The Federal Government was notified of the situation in Texas, through the International Health Regulations (IHR), who reported a case of monkeypox disease diagnosed in a patient who had recently visited Nigeria.
Since the re-emergence of monkeypox in the country in September 2017, the agency has continued to receive reports and responses to sporadic cases of the disease from states across the country.
We have been working closely with state health ministries to strengthen monkeypox disease surveillance and response in the country.
We work with Enhanced Monkeypox Surveillance Project where we have been training health workers across states to rapidly detect and manage cases.”
He added that the FG’s initial focus is on the states with the highest number of cases, including Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Lagos. He also said that the FG will continue working with all states to strengthen monkeypox prevention, detection and control in Nigeria,
“If you feel ill or have a sudden rash, please visit a hospital for diagnosis and management,” he said.
What you should know
Monkeypox cases last for 3 to 4 weeks with flu-like symptoms. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention poxvirus experts were supporting the investigation and response to Nigeria’s monkeypox flare-ups since 2017 when the disease re-emerged in Nigeria after nearly 40 years.
Nairametrics reported last week that the CDC revealed that a rare case of monkeypox was found in an American resident in Texas, who recently returned from Nigeria.
