Monkeypox Cases Reach 101, The Highest In The Past Five Years
It has been confirmed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that in 2022, there are 101 cases of Monkeypox, which is the highest figure since 2017 when the disease had re-emerged. In its latest Monkeypox situation report for week 27, the centre had also added that there have been no less than 301 suspected cases of the disease reported in the country.
Monkeypox is a rare viral zoonotic infectious disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans which occurs sporadically, primarily in remote villages of Central and West Africa near tropical rainforests. Nigeria is one of the countries in Africa where the disease is found to be endemic.
According to the NCDC, the epidemiology report of the viral infection had revealed that Nigeria had reported 88 cases in 2017; 49 in 2018; 47 in 2019; 8 in 2020, and 34 in 2021, which brought the total number of confirmed cases from 2017 to 2022 to 327.
The epidemiology report of the disease from the 4th to the 7th of July had revealed that there were 56 suspected new cases that had been reported from 22 states – broken down into, Katsina (12), Gombe (7), Adamawa (6), Bauchi (5), Bayelsa (3), Ondo (3), Delta (2), Edo (2), Lagos (2), Plateau (2), Abia (1), Anambra (1), Borno (1), Enugu (1), Kaduna (1), Kebbi (1), Kogi (1), Kwara (1), Nasarawa (1), Ogun (1), Oyo (1) and Taraba (1).
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The report also read, “Of 56 suspected cases, there were 17 new confirmed positive cases in week 27, 2022 from 12 states – namely, Ondo (3), Adamawa (2), Bayelsa (2), Delta (2), Anambra (1), Borno (1), Edo (1), Gombe (1), Katsina (1), Kogi (1), Plateau (1) and Lagos (1). From January 1 to July 10, 2022, there have now been 301 suspected cases and 101 confirmed cases (65 male, 36 female) from 23 states listed – Lagos (14), Adamawa (11), Delta (9), Nasarawa (7), Edo (7), Bayelsa (7), Rivers (6), Plateau (6), FCT (5), Ondo (5), Cross River (3), Kwara (3), Borno (3), Imo (2), Kano (2), Taraba (2), Anambra (2), Katsina (2), Niger (1), Oyo (1), Ogun (1), Kogi (1) and Gombe (1). Three deaths were recorded from 3 states – Delta (1), Lagos (1), and Ondo (1).
“Overall, since the re-emergence of Monkeypox in September 2017 and to July 10, 2022, a total of 813 suspected cases have been reported from 35 states in the country. Of these 813 suspected cases, there have been 327 (40.9%) confirmed from 29 states – Rivers (58), Bayelsa (50), Lagos (44), Delta (38), Cross River (17), Edo (17), FCT (11), Adamawa (11), Imo (10), Nasarawa (9), Plateau (9), Akwa Ibom (7), Oyo (7), Ondo (5), Enugu (4), Anambra (4), Abia (3), Kwara (3), Borno (3), Benue (2), Ekiti (2), Kano (2), Niger (2), Ogun (2), Taraba (2), Katsina (2), Ebonyi (1), Gombe (1) and Kogi (1). In addition, from September 2017 to July 10, 2022, a total of 11deaths have been recorded (CFR= 3.5%) in six states – Lagos (3), Edo (2), Imo (1), Cross River (1), FCT (1), Rivers (1), Ondo (1) and Delta (1).”
Obinna Chukwudi, a Medical Laboratory Scientist at the Department of Microbiology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, stated that there was the need for effective control and preventive measures and increased surveillance measures.
“One of the reasons we are having increased cases is that we have relaxed so much on the preventive measures used in tackling COVID-19, which has exposed us to so many things we never thought we could practice. People no longer practice any of those non-pharmaceutical protocols, and people no longer wash their hands. The cases are community-based and it is coming to the urban area. We have to intensify our awareness campaign. The fact that we have overcome COVID-19 to an extent does not mean that we should relax on our containment measures.”
Prof. Tanimola Akande, a Professor of Public Health at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, said that the increase in Monkeypox cases was a call for concern and an utmost response, “Nigeria CDC is already educating Nigerians on what to do to control it at various levels. However, this should not be left to the NCDC alone. Other stakeholders in disease control particularly as it relates to the ‘One Health Approach, need to play active roles at all levels. Unfortunately, vaccines for Monkeypox are not available yet in Nigeria.”
