The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have declared the ravaging deadly Mpox as a global health challenge following an increase in confirmed cases on the continent. The current outbreak of Mpox, which started in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has spread to neighbouring countries in Central and East African regions, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
The WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had, in declaring the Mpox to be a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International health regulations (2005) (IHR) said: “The emergence of a new clade of Mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries, are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other Mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”
In the same vein, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said: “Significant efforts are already underway in close collaboration with communities and governments, with our country teams working on the frontlines to help reinforce measures to curb Mpox. With the growing spread of the virus, we’re scaling up further through coordinated international action to support countries bring the outbreaks to an end.”
The DR Congo alone has recorded over 17,000 cases and 500 deaths, mainly among children this year. Ghebreyesus revealed that the UN agency has released $1.5 million in contingency funds and plans to release more. The agency would require initial $15million and appeal to donors for more funding to combat the disease.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Nigeria has confirmed 39 cases of Mpox in about 20 states, including, Bayelsa, Enugu, Cross River, Benue, Akwa Ibom, FCT, Delta, Anambra, Rivers, Plateau, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Lagos, Zamfara, Oyo, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Kano, Taraba and others.
Although Nigeria has not recorded any death yet from the outbreak across the country, the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, said that the centre has intensified coordination and communication with stakeholders to manage the spread of the virus and prevent its importation into the country. “As part of the government’s on-going efforts, we have intensified surveillance across Nigeria to swiftly detect and respond to new cases,” the NCDC boss stated.
The centre has reportedly put all port health service officials across all five international airports, 10 seaports, and 51 land/foot crossing borders on high alert. Similarly, diagnostic protocols in line with the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) have been distributed to the locations, while suspected cases are been screened by officials. While the affected states have been placed on red alert, the centre has embarked on contact tracing and monitoring of confirmed cases to prevent further spread of the deadly virus.
According to WHO, Mpox or monkeypox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus. Two different clades exist: clade 1 and clade 11. The common symptoms of Mpox are a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last two to four weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes. The disease can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with infected person, contaminated materials or with infected animals. Mpox is treated with supportive care. Vaccines and therapeutics developed for smallpox and approved for use in some countries can be used for Mpox in some circumstances. Mpox can be prevented by avoiding physical contact with someone who has Mpox. Vaccination can help prevent infection for people at risk.
The monkeypox virus was discovered in Denmark in 1958 in monkeys kept for research and the first reported human case of Mpox was in a nine-month old boy in DR Congo in 1970. Following the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the end of smallpox vaccination worldwide, Mpox had steadily emerged in Central, East and West Africa. A global outbreak of the disease occurred in 2022-2023.
The spread of Mpox across the country is likely to exacerbate Nigeria’s already challenged healthcare system. This is why the federal and state health authorities should create more awareness about the Mpox disease across the country using the mass media. This is the time to prioritise public hygiene and preventive healthcare. Nigerians should be kept abreast of the symptoms of the disease, preventive measures and treatment options. Let the NCDC and state governments work together to halt further spread of Mpox.