By Chijioke Kingsley
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says a total of 39 confirmed cases and zero deaths from mpox have been recorded across 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Director General of the NCDC, Jide Idris, made the revelation at a press briefing on the declaration of mpox as a public health emergency of international concern on Thursday.
He said the NCDC is intensifying surveillance across Nigeria to swiftly detect and respond to any new cases.
According to Idris, the NCDC all port health services across all 5 international airports, 10 seaports, and 51 land/foot crossing borders are on high alert.
He added that some states have also been put on high alert including Lagos, Enugu, Kano, Rivers, Cross-River, Akwa-Ibom, Adamawa, Taraba, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared the mpox surge in Africa a global public health emergency, worried by the rise in cases in DRC 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 comes after the African Union’s health watchdog declared its public health emergency over the growing outbreak.
Mpox has swept through the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the virus formerly called monkeypox was first discovered in humans in 1970, and spread to other countries.
Tedros said the more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths reported so far this year in DR Congo have already exceeded last year’s total.
