The Director of Health and Care at the Nigerian Red Cross on Mpox, Dr. Mannir Jega, has disclosed that 108 Mpox cases have been confirmed in 27 states across the country.
Jega disclosed this on Wednesday in Kaduna at the training of health workers from 15 states.
He said Bayelsa state has the highest number of Mpox cases in the country, while the North Central region has the highest cases in the northern part of the country.
He however said preparedness plans were being developed for the aimed at reducing transmission of the disease as well as protecting vulnerable populations in low-burden states.
According to him, the Nigerian Red Cross, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and their partners at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, have activated a robust response plan.
Jega explained that, “Mpox is a critical public health issue affecting our nation and the world.
“The Mpox outbreak has been declared a global health emergency by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa CDC. “Unfortunately, Nigeria is among the affected countries.
“The latest figures from NCDC revealed 108 confirmed Mpox cases out of 1,395 suspected cases this year, spanning 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“While we are fortunate that no fatalities have been recorded thus far, we must act decisively to prevent further spread and mitigate its impact”.
According to him, a similar training on combating the outbreak of the disease had been conducted in 17 states.
He said the current training programme included participants from Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Edo, and among other states.
“We trained them with the necessary skills and knowledge on how to respond effectively to the outbreak,” he added.
