The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed the country’s first mokeypox related death for 2022.
According to the NCDC as of May 29, 2022, a total of 21 confirmed cases with one death have been reported from nine States.
“This year, as of the 29th of May, 2022, a total of 21 confirmed cases with one death have been reported from nine states and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja). The death was reported in a 40-year-old patient who had underlying co-morbidity and was on immunosuppressive medications.
Genomic surveillance is ongoing at NCDC’s 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.
On 26th May 2022, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) activated a national Multisectoral Emergency Operations Centre for Monkeypox (MPX-EOC) at level 2 to strengthen and coordinate ongoing response activities in-country while contributing to the global response.
This was based on the report of a preliminary risk assessment done by a group of Subject Matter Experts from the NCDC, relevant government Ministries Departments Agencies and partner agencies.
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,” read a part statement from the NCDC.
In addition, the NCDC urged healthcare workers to maintain a high index of suspicion for monkeypox and report any suspected case to the relevant State Epidemiology Team for prompt public health intervention, including sampling for confirmatory testing.
According to reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), as of the 26th of May, 2022, there have been a cumulative total of 257 laboratory-confirmed monkeypox cases, with around 120 suspected cases reported, from 23 non-endemic countries that include Argentina, Canada, French Guiana, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and Australia.
