Monkey Pox Ravages As NCDC Confirms 21 Cases  In 7 Days

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed no fewer than 21 more cases of monkey pox virus in the country within the last seven days.

This was contained in NCDC's official website updated on Sunday.

The centre reiterated that the disease could be spread by close contact and exposure to an infected person’s respiratory droplets, skin lesions or bodily fluids.

According to NCDC, Nigeria has recorded six monkey pox related deaths between January and August and that six states in the country have recorded one death each from the disease.

The six states where monkey pox deaths occurred as Delta, Lagos, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Taraba and Kogi.

NCDC further said monkey pox symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, fever and a rash that may initially be mistaken for chickenpox or a sexually transmitted disease, if in the genital or anal region.

“Between Aug. 15 and Aug. 21, Taraba and Kogi States recorded two deaths,” the agency said.

It added that the total number of confirmed cases of monkey pox in the country had also risen to 241, with 21 new cases reported in one week between Aug. 15 and Aug. 21.

The NCDC said that the 21 confirmed cases were reported from 12 states.

It listed the states as Lagos – seven, Adamawa – two, Ebonyi – two, Imo -two, Akwa Ibom – one, Anambra – one, Edo – one, FCT – one, Katsina State – one, Kaduna State – one, Kogi – one and Ondo State – one.

“Of the 241 confirmed cases of monkey pox in the country, Lagos State has the highest burden of the disease, with 42 confirmed cases since the beginning of the year.

“This translates to 17.4 per cent of the total burden of the disease in the country.

“Overall, since the re-emergence of monkey pox in September, 2017 to August this year, a total of 1,116 suspected cases have been reported from 35 states.

“Of the 1,116 suspected cases, there have been 467 (41.8 per cent) confirmed (309 male, 158 female) from 32 states.

“In addition, from September, 2017 to August, 2022, a total of 14 deaths have been recorded, with a case fatality rate of three per cent, in 10 states.

“The states are: Lagos – three, Edo – two, Imo – one, Cross River – one, FCT – one, Rivers – one, Ondo State – one, Delta – one, Akwa Ibom – one, Taraba – one and Kogi – one,” NCDC stated.