Nigeria confirms 10 additional cases of Monkeypox in 7 days

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC ) has recorded 10 additional Monkeypox cases in the last seven days in the country.

The NCDC disclosed this via it’s official website, in its latest monkeypox situation report released on Friday.

As global monkeypox cases continue to rise, public-health officials and researchers are questioning whether the current outbreaks can be contained.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the situation was unlikely to escalate into a full-blown pandemic.

But, there are now more than 1,000 confirmed infections, in nearly 30 countries where outbreaks do not usually occur.

Countries including Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States have begun implementing a strategy called ‘ring vaccination,’ to try to halt the spread of the virus.

This involves administering smallpox vaccines — which are thought to be effective against monkeypox, because, the viruses are related to people who have been exposed to monkeypox through close contact with an infected person.

The Agency said that this was reported in epidemiological week 22, from  May 29 to June 5, 2022, in the country.

It stated that between January 1 and June 5, the country had confirmed a total of 31 cases in 12 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The NCDC  also confirmed that no fewer than 110 suspected cases of the disease had been reported in the country, up from the previous 66 suspected cases.

“From January 1 to 5 June, 2022, there have been 110 suspected cases in total and 31 confirmed cases from 12 states.

They are: Adamawa 5, Lagos 6, River 3, Cross River 2, FCT 2, Kano 2, Delta 2, Bayelsa 2, Edo 2, Imo 2, Plateau 2, and Ondo 1.

“One death was recorded in a 40-year old man, with co-morbidity that was receiving immunosuppressive drugs.

“There were 10 new positive cases in Epi week 22, 2022, from six states – Edo 2, Rivers 2, Plateau 2, Lagos 2, Ondo 1 and Imo 1,” it said.