The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has registered 59 suspected cases of Monkeypox in Nigeria.
NCDC Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, on Tuesday said it has also confirmed 15 cases of the disease.
Ihekweazu was reacting to the Dallas, Texas resident who recently returned from Nigeria and tested positive for the disease.
Laboratory tests confirmed that the patient was infected with a strain of the virus mainly seen in West Africa, which included Nigeria.
However, Ihekweazu told NAN that just as the agency
responded to other epidemic-prone diseases in the country, an outbreak would be
declared when there was a large cluster of monkeypox cases that constituted an
emergency.
“The Federal Government was notified of the situation in
Texas, through the International Health Regulations (IHR), who reported a case
of monkeypox disease diagnosed in a patient who had recently visited Nigeria.
“Since the re-emergence of monkeypox in the country in
September 2017, the agency has continued to receive reports and responses to
sporadic cases of the disease from states across the country.
“We have been working closely with state health ministries
to strengthen monkeypox disease surveillance and response in the country.
“We work with Enhanced Monkeypox Surveillance Project where
we have been training health workers across states to rapidly detect and manage
cases.
“Our initial focus is on the states with the highest number
of cases – Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Lagos.
“We will continue working with all states to strengthen
monkeypox prevention, detection and control in Nigeria,” he explained.
He urged Nigerians to continue adhering to precautions that
protect them from monkeypox and other infectious diseases.
“If you feel ill or have a sudden rash, please visit a
hospital for diagnosis and management,” he advised.
Monkeypox, which is in the same family of viruses as
smallpox, is a rare but potentially deadly viral infection that begins with
flu-like symptoms and progresses to a rash on the face and body.
It tends to last two to four weeks. People who do not have
symptoms are not capable of transmitting the virus.
Monkeypox infections of that strain are fatal in about one
in 100 people, affecting those with weakened immune systems more strongly.
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