...FG to focus on the states with highest number of cases.
Nigeria has recorded 59 suspected cases of Monkeypox with 15 confirmed. That’s according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
Director-General, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, confirmed this on Thursday while reacting to the Dallas, Texas resident who recently returned from Nigeria and tested positive for the disease.
Laboratory tests confirmed that the patient was infected with a strain of the virus mainly seen in West Africa, which included Nigeria.
The NCDC boss said: “The Federal Government was notified of the situation in Texas, through the International Health Regulations (IHR), who reported a case of monkeypox disease diagnosed in a patient who had recently visited Nigeria.
“Since the re-emergence of monkeypox in the country in September 2017, the agency has continued to receive reports and responses to sporadic cases of the disease from states across the country.
“We have been working closely with state health ministries to strengthen monkeypox disease surveillance and response in the country.
“We work with Enhanced Monkeypox Surveillance Project where we have been training health workers across states to rapidly detect and manage cases.”
He added that the FG’s initial focus is on the states with the highest number of cases, including Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Lagos. He also said that the FG will continue working with all states to strengthen monkeypox prevention, detection, and control in Nigeria,
