Mpox: Nigeria records one new case – NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease and Control (NCDC) on Friday said that the country has recorded a new case of Mpox.

The new case brings the total number of confirmed Mpox cases to 40 out of the 830 suspected cases.

The Director-General of NCDC, Jide Idris, disclosed this during a Joint NCDC/World Health Organisation National Mpox briefing in Abuja.

Governments’ action plan

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Nigeria Country Office also announced that Nigeria is set to receive a donation of Mpox vaccines from the United States Government.

This donation will enable the country to enhance its response to the ongoing Mpox outbreak and improve public health outcomes.

According to Mr Idris, Nigeria has taken proactive measures since Mpox was designated a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, including the establishment of an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and the implementation of an Incident Management System (IMS).

These structures are designed to enhance the country’s response to the outbreak and facilitate effective coordination of public health efforts.

The DG said: “Currently, we have 40 confirmed cases out of 830 suspected cases. We have not recorded any deaths, which is remarkable. We have developed an incident action plan to address each area, using various pillars.

“We have met with state governments and state Commissioners of Health to advise them on establishing their emergency preparedness and response teams, capabilities, and action plans. They will coordinate this with their respective Local Government Areas.

“Another key area is surveillance. Of the 40 cases reported in the country, they are distributed across about 12 or 13 states. Many cases are in the South-south and South-east, with some in Lagos, Ogun, and other northern areas. Our plans are to target these states to reduce the number of cases and conduct active surveillance to detect more cases.”

Mr Idris also explained that the agency needs to “enhance our laboratory services. All confirmed cases so far were validated using genomic sequencing in two labs — the National Research Lab in Abuja and Lagos. Due to the spread, we need to increase the number of laboratories for testing, including Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the African Centre for Genomics.”

He emphasised the necessity of enhancing laboratory capacities, particularly in the South-south and South-east regions, to strengthen the response to the outbreak. He also highlighted the centre’s intensified efforts to raise public awareness and educate individuals on the disease, its symptoms, and preventive measures.

Additionally, he acknowledged challenges in data collection and assured that the centre is actively addressing these issues to improve data quality and inform response strategies.

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WHO’s Country Representative, Walter Mulombo, stressed the crucial need for continued vigilance and enhanced surveillance of zoonotic pathogens in natural environments, which have the potential to cause disease outbreaks.

He emphasised the importance of monitoring microbial activity to enable early detection and rapid response to potential public health threats.

About MPox

Mpox is a rare viral zoonotic infectious disease, occuring in several African countries, including the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa. The exact reservoir of the virus remains unknown, although rodents, squirrels, and monkeys are suspected to play a role in transmission. The Mpox virus can spread from animal to human and from human to human.

Animal-to-human transmission may occur through direct contact with the blood, body fluids, skin, or mucosal lesions of infected animals, such as monkeys, squirrels, and rodents, potentially via a bite, scratch, handling, or consuming inadequately cooked or other products of infected bushmeat.

Human-to-human transmission occurs when an individual comes into contact with the virus from an infected person or materials contaminated with the virus, such as clothing or bedding.