The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported 39 confirmed cases of mpox across 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with no recorded deaths.
NCDC Director General Jide Idris disclosed this at a press briefing on Thursday, following the declaration of mpox as a public health emergency of international concern.
Idris stated that the NCDC is intensifying surveillance nationwide to swiftly detect and respond to new cases.
He mentioned that all port health services at the country’s five international airports, ten seaports, and 51 land and foot crossing borders are on high alert.
Additionally, certain states, including Lagos, Enugu, Kano, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Taraba, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have been put on high alert.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the surge in mpox cases in Africa a global public health emergency on Wednesday, expressing concern over the rise in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the spread to nearby countries.
The WHO called a meeting of experts to study the outbreak and make a recommendation to the UN health agency’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“Today, the emergency committee met and advised me that in its view, the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice,” Tedros told a press conference.
“This is something that should concern us all. WHO is committed in the days and weeks ahead to coordinate the global response, working closely with each of the affected countries, and leveraging our on-the-ground presence, to prevent transmission, treat those infected, and save lives.”
The decision follows the African Union’s health watchdog declaring a public health emergency due to the growing mpox outbreak.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has swept through the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the virus was first discovered in humans in 1970, and has since spread to other countries.
Tedros noted that the more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths reported in the DR Congo so far this year have already exceeded last year’s total.