Victor Ezeja
No fewer than 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, have recorded cases of mpox disease in Nigeria.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Director-General, Jide Idris, the country has recorded a total of 39 cases but no death.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIdris, who made this known during a briefing on Thursday, revealed that six states across the federation including Bayelsa (5), Cross River (5), Ogun (4), Lagos (4), Ondo (3), and Ebonyi (3) have recorded the highest cases of mpox.
This comes as the World Health Organisation declared mpox as a public health emergency of international concern on Thursday, following its outbreak in parts of east and central Africa.
Sweden has also recorded its first case of mpox virus.
Idris said the national mpox technical working group (TWG), a multi-sectoral body under the NCDC, will continue to coordinate mpox response activities.
According to him, the centre will intensify surveillance across Nigeria by putting all port health services across all five international airports, 10 seaports, and 51 land/foot crossing borders on high alert in order “to swiftly detect and respond to any new cases.”
“Diagnostic protocols are now distributed to these locations, and port health officers are on high alert and screening for suspected cases,” Idris stated.
He also said NCDC is notifying public and private hospitals about the mpox outbreak and is sending a list of referral isolation/treatment centres across the six geopolitical zones and reference.
READ ALSO: WHO Declares Mpox Global Public Health Emergency As Sweden Confirms First Case
Prime Business Africa had reported that Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health through the Port services department issued an order mandating all Nigeria-bound travellers to declare their health status through a form as a measure to monitor importation into the country.
The NCDC DG said Nigeria expects to receive 10,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine for use in containing the spread, especially among high-risk groups in the country.
He said the NCDC has put some states, including Lagos, FCT, Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Cross-River, Enugu, Kano, Taraba, and Rivers, on high alert, adding that the agency is also conducting contact tracing and monitoring for confirmed cases to prevent further spread.
“This will now also include declarations by travellers who have been to any of the countries where there has been an ongoing outbreak of mpox in the last 90 days.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
