NCDC Records 21 Monkeypox Cases In Nigeria Within Seven Days
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), it has reported 21 more cases of monkeypox within the country in the past seven days.
On Sunday, through its official website, the NCDC that the disease could be spread by close contact and exposure to an infected person’s respiratory droplets, skin lesions, or bodily fluids.
It was also reported that Nigeria recorded six monkey pox-related deaths between January and August and that six states in the country (Delta, Lagos, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Taraba, and Kogi) had recorded one death each from the disease.
The NCDC explained that monkeypox symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, fever, and a rash that may initially be mistaken for chickenpox or a sexually transmitted disease, if in the genital or anal region.
The agency added, “Between Aug. 15 and Aug. 21, Taraba and Kogi States recorded two deaths,” and that the total number of confirmed cases of monkeypox in the country had also risen to 241, with 21 new cases reported in one week between August 15 and August 21.
The NCDC said that the 21 confirmed cases were reported from 12 states which were Lagos – seven, Adamawa – two, Ebonyi – two, Imo -two, Akwa Ibom – one, Anambra – one, Edo – one, FCT – one, Katsina State – one, Kaduna State – one, Kogi – one and Ondo State – one.
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“Of the 241 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the country, Lagos State has the highest burden of the disease, with 42 confirmed cases since the beginning of the year. This translates to 17.4 percent of the total burden of the disease in the country. Overall, since the re-emergence of monkeypox in September, 2017 to August this year, a total of 1,116 suspected cases have been reported from 35 states.
“Of the 1,116 suspected cases, there have been 467 (41.8 percent) confirmed (309 male, 158 female) from 32 states. In addition, from September 2017 to August 2022, a total of 14 deaths have been recorded, with a case fatality rate of three percent, in 10 states. The states are Lagos – three, Edo – two, Imo – one, Cross River – one, FCT – one, Rivers – one, Ondo State – one, Delta – one, Akwa Ibom – one, Taraba – one, and Kogi – one.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that monkeypox is an infection that is caused by a virus similar to the now-eradicated smallpox virus and has been common in some African countries but outbreaks have occurred in other parts of the world from time to time.
In 2022, the World Health Organisation declared a global health emergency after the spread of monkeypox to many countries through social interactions and intimate contacts.
Monkeypox can be quite severe in young children, especially if they have poor nutritional status as in previous years, the most fatal cases have occurred primarily among children in Africa.
Vaccines can prevent monkeypox, but they are currently in short supply worldwide.
When widely available, the vaccine may also be used to protect at-risk populations, including men having sex with men, bisexual people, commercial sex workers, and others who engage in behaviours that put them at risk.
The infection continues to spread but because transmission requires close personal contact, the rate is much slower than that of SARS-CoV-2 virus (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19).
SOURCE: NAN
