MPox: Nigeria intensifies surveillance at entry points for early detection

The Federal Government has intensified monitoring and screening procedures at all entry points in response to the threat of mpox.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by his Special Assistant on Media and External Relations, Mr. Tashikalmah Hallah.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday declared mpox a global public health emergency following a surge in cases in Africa.

The virus has swept through the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 14,000 cases and 524 deaths have been reported this year.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had earlier in Thursday confirmed 39 mpox cases in the country.

MPox, formerly known as monkeypox, is caused by a highly contagious and deadly monkeypox virus.

It is transmitted through close contact such as sex, skin-to-skin contact, and talking or breathing close to another infected person.

The virus causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions and can be fatal with four in 100 cases leading to death.

READ ALSO: Nigeria confirms 39 mpox cases

Pate said the NCDC and the Nigeria Ports Health Services, under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had been taking steps to fortify Nigeria’s defenses.

He added that the steps were taken even before the declaration of mpox as a public health emergency by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC)

“This Mpox Clade 1 strain has caused fatalities in up to 10 per cent of individuals who have fallen ill in previous outbreaks.

“The aim is to tackle and mitigate its impact by deploying measures similar to those used during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the minister said.

Pate revealed that the government had implemented a new mandate requiring all travellers to complete an online health declaration form before departing for the country.

The measure, he said, was being introduced alongside the activation of infectious disease centres in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

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