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*Kicks against report of 935 suspected cases
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) on Tuesday said there were only 55 confirmed cases of Mpox in Nigeria.
The centre made this known via its official website, noting that the 55 cases were confirmed from the 935 suspected cases across 39 local government areas in 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The agency stated that no death had been recorded from the disease so far this year, adding that "70 per cent of the reported cases were males, while 30 per cent were females."
Recall that Mpox is a viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus similar to smallpox, though generally less severe, characterised by symptoms such as fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes.
The disease can spread from animals to humans, as well as between humans through close contact, respiratory droplets and contaminated objects.
The agency said, “The age distribution of confirmed Mpox cases revealed that 19 cases were recorded in ages 0-10, eight cases in ages 11-20 and 12 cases in ages 21-30.
“Additionally, eight cases were recorded in ages 31-40, seven cases in ages 41-50, and one case in an individual aged 50 and above.”
The NCDC gave the breakdown of the confirmed cases to include eight from Enugu, six from Bayelsa, six from Akwa-Ibom, five from Cross River, three from Delta, three from Benue and three from Plateau.
Others are: Osun (two), Imo (two), FCT (two), Anambra (two), Rivers (two), Abia (two), while Lagos, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Edo, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Oyo, Kaduna, and Niger have one case each.
The NCDC explained that “since September 2017, 4,752 suspected cases have been reported from 36 states and the FCT, with 1,141 confirmed cases (24.0 per cent) from 35 states and the FCT with 17 deaths. Males (~70 per cent) are predominantly affected.”
The Nigerian public health agency noted that the National Mpox multi-sectoral and multi-partner Emergency Operation Centre had continued to coordinate responses across the country.
