The United States government has denied involvement in the spread of Monkey Pox in Nigeria. It described the claim levied against it by the Russian government that it is responsible for the spread of the virus through its laboratories in Nigeria, as pure fabrication.
This was disclosed by the US Consulate via a statement it issued and shared with Nairametrics.
According to the statement, the post, which wrongly speculates on the origin of the current global outbreak of monkeypox disease, is a pure fabrication.
What the US is saying about the allegation
It stated, “There is zero merit to any allegations regarding the use of U.S.-assisted Nigerian laboratories in the spread of monkeypox. Furthermore, there are no “U.S.-controlled” laboratories in Nigeria.
“These falsehoods detract from the work that the United States, in close coordination with Nigerian and multilateral partners, accomplish together on public health, including in disease surveillance, diagnosis, prevention, and control.
“The collaborative work between Nigeria and the United States has provided opportunities for technical assistance in capacity building, equipment, commodities/consumables, and funding to critical public health program, hospitals and laboratories. All of this contributes greatly to the prevention and amelioration of global disease outbreaks.”
It explained that Monkeypox is not a new disease, nor is it unique to Nigeria or this region, having first been diagnosed in 1970 in the DRC.
“As we work together to contain its spread, exported cases have been reported in the United Kingdom, United States, and other parts of the world.
“The United States government continues to lend its support and work closely with the government of Nigeria in responding to the outbreak. Through our collaborative interventions, U.S. government agencies working in Nigeria (including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Program) and their implementing partners have supported both national and state laboratories with technical assistance and funding.
“These laboratories are Nigerian, and U.S. support enables them to provide essential services for the public good and the health of Nigeria’s citizens. Especially important, our support to laboratories across the country extends to quality improvements that ensure they have appropriate levels of biosafety and biosecurity requirements in place,” it added.
In case you missed it
- Nairametrics had reported that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed that there is a 100% increase in Monkey Pox suspected cases, as it rose from 10 suspected cases in April to 20 as of May 2022. It added that 6 of the cases were confirmed and found across Lagos, Oyo and other states.
- Nairametrics was the first to report that 2 suspected cases were seen at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Lagos on May 14, 2022.
- The 20 new cases were disclosed by the NCDC in its May summary report released on Sunday.
- According to the report, the 20 suspected cases were found across 11 states. They are Lagos, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Rivers, Niger, FCT, Delta, Oyo, Kaduna, Edo and Gombe.
