76 Cases Reported As Monkeypox Raids 15 States In Nigeria

76 Cases Reported As Monkeypox Raids 15 States In Nigeria
About 76 cases of monkeypox is reported in 2018, 37 have been confirmed with one probable and two deaths in 15 states, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said.
Nigerian Guardian quoted the agency as saying that the affected states are Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Oyo, Abia, Anambra, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Its latest situation report on the disease released on September 20, showed that Rivers with 34 cases, Bayelsa (20) and Cross River (9) have the highest number of confirmed cases since the beginning of the outbreak.
The report also identified a cluster of six suspected cases with epidemiological link to a United Kingdom (UK) case in Rivers.
The Public Health England (PHE) had reported two cases of monkey pox to the NCDC, which were confirmed in the UK on September 7 and 11, 2018 on people with recent travel history to Nigeria.
Speaking on the development, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, had said case investigations and contact tracing were ongoing in the UK and Nigeria, adding that the NCDC is collaborating with the PHE to investigate and strengthen further control measures on the two cases so far confirmed in the UK.
According to the report, the disease affects more males with 79 per cent of confirmed cases and that the most affected age group is 21- 40 years with median age of 31.
A breakdown of the figures showed nine new cases with two confirmed; 115 confirmed cases reported from September 2017; four probable cases from September 2017; seven deaths and 17 states with at least one confirmed case including FCT.
Monkey pox is a viral disease that produces pox lesions on the skin and is closely related to smallpox, but is not nearly as deadly as smallpox.