Cross River govt. confirms 1 case of Monkey pox
The Cross River Government has confirmed a case of Mpox in the Okoshe community, Obudu Local Government Area. This confirmation follows a recent report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) regarding a case in the state.
Initially, State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Ayuk, had denied the presence of Mpox. However, he later announced that the National Reference Laboratory in Abuja had confirmed the Mpox case in a patient from Obudu. Dr. Ayuk explained that on August 19, the health ministry was alerted to a possible Mpox or chickenpox case by an epidemiologist from Ebonyi. The patient, a female from Okoshe village, had sought treatment at the Federal Medical Centre in Abakaliki. Her test sample was sent to the National Reference Laboratory, which confirmed Mpox on August 24 and ruled out chickenpox.
The state government is taking measures to prevent an outbreak, including investigating the patient’s travel history and activating the Mpox Emergency Operation Center. Dr. Ekpo Ekpo, Special Adviser to Governor Bassey Otu on Health, has been appointed Incident Manager. Additionally, the Obudu LGA response team has been directed to work with the state health team to address the situation.
The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Cross River has urged the state government to enhance surveillance due to the state’s vulnerability to outbreaks. The NCDC reported 40 confirmed Mpox cases out of 830 suspected cases nationwide. NCDC Director-General Dr. Jide Idris announced this at a briefing with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Abuja.
The WHO Nigeria Country Office has announced that Nigeria will receive Mpox vaccine doses through a donation from the United States Government. Dr. Idris noted that an Emergency Operations Centre and Incident Management System have been established since Mpox was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The NCDC has identified cases in Bayelsa, Cross River, Ogun, Lagos, Ondo, and Ebonyi, and has put additional states, including Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Kano, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, and Taraba, on high alert. The National Mpox Technical Working Group (TWG) is coordinating the response efforts.
