The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) have revealed they confirmed 40 cases of Mpox across 30 local government areas of the federation from 802 suspected cases in 33 states.
The cases were recorded in Bayelsa (5) Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Cross River (4 cases each), Benue (3), Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Delta, Anambra, Rivers, Plateau (2 each); Nasarawa, Lagos, Zamfara, Kebbi, Oyo, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi (1 each) and Osun (2). There have been no reported cases of death so far.
This as the United States government donated 10,000 doses of Mpox vaccines to Nigeria following the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC) declaring Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International and Continental Concern (PHEIC/PHECC) following an outbreak of the disease across the continent.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government yesterday raised the alarm over the potential risk of importing a new variant of Mpox, known as Clay 1, from neighbouring African countries affected by the outbreak via airline and shipping routes.
During a media briefing, the State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, said the World Health Organization (WHO) had identified the new variant’s outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We are here today to discuss the risks associated with the new mpox variant, Clay 1, which is currently circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spreading to neighbouring countries.
“Our concern is that this virus could be imported into Lagos through various airline and shipping routes, potentially bringing contaminated passengers, goods, or materials into our state.
“The WHO has already declared this outbreak in the DRC as a public health emergency of international concern,” he said.
Abayomi said Lagos has not reported any active cases of the new variant but has implemented preventive measures in case of an outbreak.
“To clarify, we do not have any active cases in Lagos at this time. However, this situation requires a global response, as failure to address it could severely impact the health, well-being, and economic stability of multiple countries,” he added.
He said the state plans to set up emergency operations centres specifically to address mpox outbreak and will launch a statewide public health awareness campaign on how to take proactive steps to avoid exposure to the virus.
