The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says it has confirmed 48 Mpox cases out of 868 suspected cases across 35 Local Government Areas in 19 states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
NCDC announced this in the Mpox situation report for week 34 (August 25) posted on the agency’s website on Friday, August 30, 2024.
The report, however, showed that no death has been recorded from the disease so far this year.
“57 new suspected cases were reported in Epi week 34, 2024, compared with 25 cases reported in the previous week (Epi week 33).
“Eight confirmed cases were reported in week 34 compared with one (1) confirmed case reported in week 33, 2024.
“Twenty States and the FCT have recorded at least one confirmed case across thirty-five (35) Local Government Areas in 2024″, it said.
The age distribution of the cumulative number of confirmed Mpox cases showed that 17 cases were recorded among ages 0-10, seven cases were recorded among ages 11-20, nine cases were recorded among 21-30, eight cases were recorded among ages 31-40, and seven cases were recorded among ages 41-50.
The cases were recorded in Lagos (one), Rivers (two), Bayelsa (six), Abia (one), Delta (two), Imo (one), Edo (one), FCT (two), Anambra (two), Cross River (five).
Others were Plateau (two), Akwa Ibom (four), Nasarawa (one), Oyo (one), Kaduna (one), Ebonyi (one), Benue (three), Enugu (eight), Osun (two), Kebbi (one), and Zamfara (one).
Mpox is a rare viral zoonotic infectious disease (i.e. an infection transmitted from animals to humans) that occurs sporadically, primarily in remote villages of Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests. It is caused by the Mpox virus, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae.
The Orthopoxvirus genus also includes the variola virus (the cause of smallpox), the vaccinia virus (used in the smallpox eradication vaccine), and the cowpox virus (used in earlier smallpox vaccines). Following the eradication of smallpox, the Mpox virus has emerged as the most significant Orthopox virus.
