NCDC confirms 21 Monkeypox cases, one death

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has reported 21 confirmed cases of monkeypox in nine states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, with one death.

The NCDC stated this in a statement issued late Sunday night by its Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa.

The affected states are Adamawa, Lagos, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River, FCT, Kano, Imo, and Rivers.

The PUNCH reports that monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the Monkeypox virus which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae.

The disease, according to the World Health Organization, is endemic to West and Central African countries.

However, it has surfaced in other parts of the world such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy among others.

“A total of 66 suspected cases have been reported between January 1st to May 29th, 2022. Of the suspected cases, 21 were confirmed from nine (9) states – Adamawa (5), Lagos (4), Cross River (2), FCT (2), Kano (2), Delta (2), Bayelsa (2), River (1) and Imo (1) – with 1 death recorded. This was in a 40yrs man with renal co-morbidity and on immune-suppressive drugs.

“The twenty (20) new suspected cases in May 2022 were reported from 11 states – Lagos (5), Bayelsa (2), Adamawa (2), Rivers (2), Niger (2), FCT (2), Delta (1), Oyo (1), Kaduna (1), Edo (1) and Gombe (1).”

“Although Nigeria’s risk of exposure to the Monkeypox virus is high based on the recent risk assessment conducted at NCDC, the current situation in-country and globally has shown no significant threat to life or the community that can result in severe disease or high case fatality rate. The EOC will continue to monitor the evolving situation to inform public health action accordingly.

“Symptoms of monkeypox include sudden fever, headache, body pain, weakness, sore throat, enlargement of glands (lymph nodes) in the neck and under the jaw, followed by the appearance of a rash (often solid or fluid-filled at the onset) on the face, palms, soles of the feet, genitals and other parts of the body,” it added.