NCDC Confirms 481 Monkeypox Cases, Seven Deaths

Nigeria has so far recorded 1,180 suspected cases of monkeypox, recorded 482 cases, and seven deaths resulting from monkeypox in 2022.
Making this known in Abuja at a bi-weekly ministerial media conference anchored by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, the Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, said the NCDC had developed a treatment regime, which could entail the option of having antiviral treatment for those at the highest risk of having severe complications, hospitalisation and death.
“People with immunosuppression fall in that category. People who have dual infection with chickenpox or monkeypox at the same time fall in that category.
“We want to be able to reduce the sufferings in patients and the death rate while working on an integrated, one health approach to bring monkeypox under control,’’ he said.
Adetifa also told the conference that Nigeria had so far recorded 933 confirmed cases of Lassa fever in 2022, which was about two and a half times higher than the number of cases recorded in 2021.
He said there had been 173 Lassa fever deaths in 25 states and 102 local governments with 71 per cent of the deaths recorded in Ondo, Edo and Bauchi states.
“We continue to respond by providing treatment and infection prevention, as there are larger regional or international activities in terms of preparing for vaccine trials.
“Early phase of vaccine trial for Lassa fever has started in Liberia and there had been efforts to look at clinical drug development pathways,” he said.