Nigeria Reports 39 Mpox Cases, 5,951 Cholera Infections

Nigeria records 39 new mpox cases alongside 5,951 cholera cases, highlighting ongoing public health challenges in the country.

As of Thursday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported 39 confirmed cases of mpox with no fatalities across all 33 states including the Federal Capital Territory. These incidents occurred since the start of 2024.

Dr. Jide Idris, the Director General of NCDC, announced at a press conference in Abuja that up to August 11th, 2024 there have been a total of 5,951 suspected cases and reports show that across all states including FCT there were recorded deaths amounting to176.

On Tuesday, the Africa Centre for Disease Control announced a state of public health emergency due to the escalating mpox outbreak across the continent.

Several African countries have been affected by the outbreak, with a particular emphasis on the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing a severe and escalating outbreak that has spread beyond its borders. A previously unknown viral variant, initially observed in September 2023, has now been identified outside of the DRC for the first time.

In 2024, there have been a total of 2,863 confirmed cases and 517 deaths from mpox across thirteen African countries.

Since the start of 2024, Nigeria has reported a total of 39 confirmed COVID-19 cases and no deaths across 33 States and the FCT. The states with the highest number of cases are Bayelsa (16), Cross River (5), Ogun (4), Lagos(4) ,Ondo(3) ,and Ebonyi(3).

Idris remarked that the press conference aimed to enhance coordination and communication with stakeholders in managing virus transmission across borders, given its significant concern. The objective was to prevent disease importation.

Mpox is a scarce infectious disease caused by a virus that can be transmitted from animals to humans and is prevalent in numerous African countries, specifically the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa. Despite suspicions pointing towards rodents, squirrels, or monkeys as potential transmitters, the precise source of the pathogen remains unidentified.

The mpox virus is capable of spreading through both animal-to-human and human-to-human transmission. If an individual comes into direct contact with infected animals such as monkeys, squirrels, or rodents’ blood, body fluids, skin lesions or mucosal tissues (for instance by being bitten scratched handled inadequately cooked bushmeat), the disease may spread from an animal to a person. Person-to-person contagion transpires when someone gets in touch with the virus originating from another diseased individual who has contracted it earlier on; this can happen in various ways including clothing or bedding contaminated materials exposure.