The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported additional 41 new cases of Monkeypox disease between August 29 and September 4 from 12 states.

The NCDC, via its official website on Sunday, said the 12 states were Lagos (14), Abia (7), Imo (6), Ogun (5), Ondo (2), Akwa Ibom (1), Borno (1), Delta (1), Osun (1), Oyo (1), Plateau (1) and Rivers (1).

It stated that there had been 815 suspected cases, 318 confirmed cases and seven deaths from monkeypox in the country in 2022.

The public health agency said the seven deaths were recorded in seven states in 2022. He identified them as Delta (1), Lagos (1), Ondo (1), Akwa Ibom (1), Kogi (1), Taraba (1) and Imo (1), with Case Fatality Ratio (CFR) of 2.2 per cent.

According to NCDC, since 2017 till date, only four states in the country have accounted for 270 out of 544 cases of monkeypox in the country – Lagos (93), Rivers (71), Bayelsa (62) and Delta (44).

NCDC said this translates to approximately 50 per cent (49.6 per cent) of the total number of confirmed cases.

Monkeypox is an infection caused by a virus similar to the now-eradicated smallpox virus.

It has been most common in some African countries, but outbreaks have occurred in other areas from time to time.

In 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health emergency since monkeypox had spread to many countries through social interactions and intimate contacts.

While monkeypox cases spreading globally in 2022 can cause severe disease, the infection most often clears up on its own.

(NAN)