The Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) blames Nigerians for failure to follow preventive measures against the current spread of Monkeypox in the country. The NCDC Director of Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Dr. John Oladejo made this know on 28th June 2022 in Ibadan while speaking with journalists on the sideline of the ongoing second Ibadan Public Health conference.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday said monkeypox was not a "public health emergency of international concern." In a statement, a WHO emergency committee said many aspects of the outbreak were "unusual" and acknowledged that monkeypox has been neglected for years. "While a few members expressed differing views, the committee resolved by consensus to advise the WHO director-general that at this stage the outbreak should be determined to not constitute'' a global health emergency, WHO said.
North Korea has dispatched medical crew and epidemiological investigators to South Hwanghae, a province battling the outbreak of an intestinal disease, state media reported on Sunday. At least 800 families are suffering from what the country has only called an “acute enteric epidemic” which refers to a digestive illness. South Korean officials have said the outbreak may be cholera or typhoid, Reuters reported. The 800 families have received aid so far in South Hwanghae Province, about 75 miles south of the capital Pyongyang.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has revealed that Nigeria has recorded 10 new confirmed cases of the Monkey Pox disease in six states. The health agency disclosed this via its official website, in its latest Monkeypox situation report released on Friday. Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that does not spread easily between people. It is usually a mild self-limiting illness and most people recover within a few weeks. However, severe illness can occur in some individuals. The agency said 44 new suspected cases of Monkeypox were reported between 30th May and 5th June 2022, from 14 states of which 10 were confirmed positive from six states. The states with new confirmed cases include Edo (2), Rivers (2), Plateau (2), Lagos (2), Imo (1) and Ondo (1). According to NCDC the country has so far recorded a total of 110 suspected cases of Monkey Pox disease from January to June 5. It added that the total number of confirmed cases within the same period has risen to 31.
In its bid to stop the spread of the monkeypox virus, the Federal Government (FG) has ordered the immediate suspension of the importation of wild animals, and also warned hunters and dealers of bush meat business to indefinitely suspend business. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, made this known in a signed statement, urging Nigerians to avoid contact with monkeypox-infected persons.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said it is not clear yet whether the spread of monkeypox can be contained completely, but that its target was to contain the outbreak by preventing human-to-human transmission to the maximum extent possible. WHO in a statement said “Tools to manage it, including readily available diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics, are not likely to be immediately or widely accessible to countries.” The WHO Technical Lead for monkeypox, Rosamund Lewis, while speaking during a live session on Monday said close contact with monkeypox patients is the most significant risk factor for monkeypox virus infection, adding that the virus is moving into older populations, even in the endemic setting.
