The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has revealed that Nigeria has recorded its first monkeypox death since the beginning of the year 2022.
The nation’s disease outbreak management agency said that it has suffered 21 cases from nine states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the last five months.
The states include Adamawa – five, Bayelsa – two, Cross River – two, Delta – two, Imo – one, Lagos – four, and Rivers – one.
In a statement on Sunday, Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, NCDC Director-General, said the death case is of a 40-year-old patient who was said to have had underlying comorbidity and was placed 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 West Africa clade Monkeypox virus.
Among the 21 cases reported in 2022 so far, there has been no evidence of any new unusual transmission of the virus, nor changes in its clinical manifestation documented (including symptoms, profile, and virulence),” Adetifa said.
The Director-General also stated that the NCDC has activated a national multisectoral Emergency Operations Centre for MOnkeypox (MPX-EOC) at level two last Thursday, to reinforce and coordinate ongoing response activities in the country while assisting in the global response.
Monkeypox symptoms include sudden fever, body pain, headache, sore throat, enlargement of glands (lymph nodes) in the neck and below the jaw, followed by the appearance of a rash on the face, palms, feet, genitals, and other parts of the body.
The NCDC has urged members of the public to remain aware of the risk of monkeypox and stick to public health safety measures and report to the nearest health facility once they notice the established signs and symptoms of the disease.
