PBA ReporterWith the monkeypox outbreak being reported in several countries across the world, there is rising concern among everyone that it could be the beginning of yet another pandemic.
Monkeypox typically manifests in humans with fever, rashes and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications.
In India, the Union government has directed the airport and port health officers to be vigilant and thoroughly screen international passengers who arrive in India.
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“They have been instructed to isolate any sick passenger with a travel history to monkeypox-affected countries and send the samples to the BSL4 facility of the National Institute of Virology in Pune for an investigation,” an official source said.
Back home in Nigeria, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has activated a national Multi-sectoral Emergency Operations Centre for Monkeypox (MPX-EOC) at Level 2 to strengthen and coordinate ongoing response activities in-country.
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In a statement in Abuja, Director General of NCDC, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, noted that genomic surveillance was ongoing at the centre’s National Reference Laboratory in Abuja, and had been confirmed to be caused by the West African clade Monkeypox virus.
Adetifa stated: “As of May 29, 2022, a total of 21 confirmed cases with one death had been reported from nine states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) – Adamawa (5); Lagos (4); Bayelsa (2); Delta (2); Cross River (2); FCT (2); Kano (2); Imo (1) and Rivers (1).
“The death was reported in a 40-year-old patient, who had underlying co-morbidity and was on immunosuppressive medications.”
NCDC said genomic surveillance is ongoing at its National Reference Laboratory in Abuja and so far, all of the cases have been confirmed to be caused by the West African clade Monkeypox virus. The May 2022 Monkeypox situation report can be assessed,” he added.
NCDC, however, stressed that the public should be aware of the risk associated with pox and adhere to public health safety measures.
However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has cleared that at the present time, there is no clear link between the cases reported and travel from endemic countries.
Even though, 257 cases have been confirmed in non-endemic countries, WHO affirmed recently, it doesn’t believe the monkeypox outbreak currently spreading around the world will turn into a pandemic.
The disease is not typically found outside of countries in central and western Africa, which has raised fears of community transmission, it said.
When asked during a public session recently whether the recent outbreak could turn into a pandemic, Dr. Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for monkeypox, replied, “The answer is we don’t know, but we don’t think so.”
“At the moment, we are not concerned about a global pandemic,” Lewis continued.
Other public health officials have also said the risk for spread is generally low.
In another vein, the WHO stated the majority of cases have been reported among men who identify as gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men. Monkeypox can still be transmitted to anyone with exposure to it.
WHO continued to emphasise that the risk to the general public remains low and shouldn’t be compared to COVID-19.
“Monkeypox is very different from COVID-19,” Dr. Sylvie Briand, the director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at WHO, said during the public session.
“We don’t want people to panic or be afraid and maybe think that it’s like COVID but worse.”
“This monkeypox disease is not COVID-19. It is a different virus; it’s a different disease,” the official said.
WHO notably, recommended that people must try to the risk of infection by avoiding those with confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox and — if caring for someone with the disease — avoiding skin-to-skin contact, washing hands regularly, wearing a mask and cleaning contaminated surfaces.
“Collectively, the world has an opportunity to stop this outbreak. There’s a window of opportunity where this can be contained,” Lewis added.
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