About 56 have been killed by monkeypox with more than 1500 cases in Africa as non-endemic countries record an unusual surge of cases above 1,000, the World Health Organisation has (WHO) warned.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, at a conference on Wednesday, said new cases have now been confirmed in 29 countries where the Monkeypox virus does not usually circulate, raising the risk of becoming another global threat.
He explained that the sudden and unexpected appearance of monkeypox in these countries suggests that it may have gone undetected for some time.
But he added that the virus could be prevented from establishing itself in non-endemic countries if those infected isolated themselves at home, and avoided close contact with others.
“There are a few reports now of cases amongst women…at the moment there is still a window of opportunity to prevent the onward spread of monkeypox in those who are at highest risk right now,” he said.
Rosamund Lewis, WHO expert and the technical lead for the monkeypox outbreak said most cases being reported in non-endemic settings were still primarily among men who have sex with men.
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This virus has been circulating and killing in Africa for decades.
Nigeria has confirmed 31 out 110 suspected cases of monkeypox between January and June 2022, with only one death recorded, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Surveillance on the disease began to rise again after a few individuals travelled to the United States and the United Kingdom with the disease.
NCDC data indicate that Nigeria has continued to report sporadic cases of monkeypox since September 2017.
The resurgence this year has prompted the activation of a monkeypox National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in response to the risk assessment conducted, which put Nigeria at high risk for a Monkeypox outbreak.
The operation started on May 26th 2022 is expected to improve the coordination of related preparedness and response activities across the country.
Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. It’s an infection transmitted from animals to humans.
In 2017 Nigeria experienced the largest documented outbreak, 88 cases, 40 years after the last confirmed case.
Monkeypox was carried to Israel and United Kingdom in September 2018 and to Singapore in May 2019 by travellers from Nigeria who fell ill with monkeypox after arrival, the World Health Organisation fact sheet shows.
Infection of index cases results from direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or cutaneous or mucosal lesions of infected animals.
Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research.
