The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says one person has died of monkeypox in Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that NCDC, in a statement, said this year, as of May 28, 2022, a total of 21 confirmed cases have been reported from nine states and the federal capital territory (FCT).
The states that reported cases are Adamawa (5), Lagos (4), Bayelsa (2), Delta (2), Cross River (2), FCT (2), Kano (2), Imo (1), Rivers (1).
The NCDC said the death was reported in a 40-year-old patient who had underlying co-morbidity and was on immunosuppressive medications.
It added that among the 21 cases reported in 2022 so far, there has been “no evidence of any new or unusual transmission of the virus, nor changes in its clinical manifestation documented (including symptoms, profile and virulence)”.
The last time Nigeria recorded a monkeypox death was in 2019.
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 World Health Organisation (WHO) has said monkeypox is regularly found in Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana (identified in animals only), Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
