Monkeypox: Nigeria confirms 15 new cases as men account for over 50% of infections

Nigeria has said a total of 172 Monkeypox infections and four deaths have been recorded so far in 2022.

The latest situation report, which was released Sunday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), noted that more than 50 per cent of the cases were recorded among men.

The report further shows that of the 172 cases reported from 1 January to 7 August, men accounted for 115 cases, corroborating the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) claim that the latest outbreak is high among men.

But unlike the WHO, which claimed that the infections are mostly among men who have sex with men, particularly in non-endemic countries, NCDC isn’t specific in its report.

WHO’s Technical Lead for Monkeypox, Rosamund Lewis, said men who have sex with men are the group at the highest risk of infection right now, stating that about 99 per cent of cases are among men, and at least 95 per cent of those patients are men who have sex with men.

In July, WHO declared a global health emergency in response to the outbreak as cases rapidly increased.

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 31,799 monkey cases have now been reported across 89 countries as of 12 August 2022.

NCDC situation report

In the latest situation report spanning 1 to 7 August, NCDC recorded 60 new suspected cases, adding that 15 were recorded from nine states and the FCT.

The breakdown of the cases shows that Imo State topped with three cases, followed by the FCT (2), Ondo (2), Rivers (2), Abia (1), Anambra (1), Ebonyi (1), Edo (1), Ogun (1) and Nasarawa (1)

Overall, since the re-emergence of monkeypox in September 2017, NCDC noted that 985 suspected cases have been reported from 35 states in the country and that 398 of the figure representing 40.4 per cent were confirmed, (263 male, 135 female) from 30 states.

The disease control centre added that 12 deaths have been recorded since September 2017 in nine states: Lagos (3), Edo (2), Imo (1), Cross River (1), FCT (1), Rivers (1), Ondo (1) Delta (1) and Akwa Ibom (1).

It assured that “there are ongoing efforts to strengthen surveillance at National and sub-national levels, to increase awareness, and to promptly detect and respond to the outbreak.”

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Monkeypox spread

Before the current outbreak, most cases occurred in countries where the virus is endemic, but the majority of the recent cases have been detected in gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men, particularly in non-endemic countries.

However, WHO has said anyone can contract the virus and that there is currently no evidence it is a sexually transmitted disease, but “human-to-human transmission can result from close contact with respiratory secretions, skin lesions of an infected person or recently contaminated objects.”

The common symptoms associated with monkeypox are swollen lymph nodes, fever, headache, fatigue and muscle aches.

The CDC recommends that people avoid intimate physical contact with individuals who have a rash that looks like monkeypox and consider minimising sex with multiple or anonymous partners.