WEEKLY BULLETIN ON OUTBREAKS
AND OTHER EMERGENCIES
Week 37: 6 - 12 September 2021
Data as reported by: 17:00; 12 September 2021
...
Monkeypox Nigeria
79 Cases
0 Deaths
0% CFR
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Nigeria continues to report sporadic cases of monkeypox since the
outbreak was declared in September 2017 following the identification
of the first laboratory confirmed case. During the month of August
2021 (epidemiological weeks 31-34), nine new suspected cases
were reported and six were confirmed from Bayelsa, Delta, Federal
Capital Territory (FCT), Niger, Ogun, and Rivers states. As compared
to July 2021 when four suspected cases were reported, Nigeria has
seen a 50% increase in August. Niger and Ogun states reported their
first monkey pox cases since 2017.
Since the beginning of the year, a total of 79 suspected cases have
been reported in Nigeria. Of the suspected cases, 23 cases (29%)
have been laboratory confirmed from eight states including Bayelsa
(4), Delta (7), Edo (1), FCT (1), Lagos (4), Niger (1), Ogun (1), and
Rivers (4). No associated deaths have been reported in the country
during this year.
Since the beginning of the outbreak in September 2017 to 31
August 2021, a total of 493 suspected cases have been reported
from 31 states in the country. Of the suspected cases, only 215
(43.6%) have been confirmed with Rivers (23.7%), Bayelsa
(19.1%), Lagos (13.0%), and Delta (12.6%) states confirming the
most cases during the entire outbreak. A total of eight deaths (CFR
3.7%) have been reported since the beginning of this outbreak.
From the 215 confirmed cases, individuals aged 21 - 40 years were
the most affected accounting for 68% of confirmed cases although
suspected cases have been reported in all age groups. Males were
disproportionately affected by this outbreak, with a male to female
ratio of 2.2:1 among cases.
On 17 July 2021, the International Health Regulations national
focal point of the United States (US) notified WHO of a confirmed
monkeypox case in a traveller returning from Nigeria. During his
stay, the case visited Lagos Island of Lagos state and Ibadan city
of Oyo state and initially felt signs and symptoms including fever,
vomiting, and a mild cough on 30 June and subsequently developed
a painful rash on 7 July. Following the case’s arrival to the US on
9 July, he felt further symptoms of fever, cough, abdominal pain,
and disseminated rash on the head, face, torso, and genitals. He
sought medical attention at a hospital in Dallas, Texas on 13 July
where he was immediately placed in isolation. He was preliminarily
confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing methods to
have monkeypox on 14 July 2021 and further confirmed for West
African clade Monkeypox virus by the Poxvirus and Rabies Branch
Laboratory at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The source of the infection is still unknown. Human monkeypox in
travellers from Nigeria has been documented on seven previous
occasions since 1978.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS
A multi-agency, multi-disciplinary Technical Working Group is
coordinating support at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
(NCDC). These continue to monitor cases and strengthen
preparedness/response capacity across the country.
Surveillance for suspected cases has been enhanced and is
ongoing in the affected states.
The National Reference Laboratory in Abuja continues to
conduct confirmatory tests for Monkeypox.
There has been engagement of community to support local
government area surveillance teams and officers.
SITUATION INTERPRETATION
Sporadic cases of monkeypox continue to be reported in many
states of Nigeria. In 2021, Nigeria has thus far confirmed almost
three times as many cases than the number reported in all of 2020
(23 in 2021 vs 8 in 2020), however the total number of cases has
not yet surpassed those from 2017-2019. Surveillance should
involve the one health approach to focus on potential sources
of transmission (primarily via rodents, marsupials, primates or
handling of bushmeat) and enhance knowledge of risk in the
affected states. The recent exportation of a case to the United States
highlights the risk of spread of the disease to other countries, which
isn’t the first case to be exported.
PROPOSED ACTIONS
Since the public health workforce is limited due to the COVID-19
response, it is important to engage community members not
just for surveillance, but for insight into the potential sources
of monkeypox transmission to inform on mitigation measures.
At LGA level, there is a need to improve surveillance with a
limited public health workforce. It is also essential to intensify
efforts around risk communication activities and advocacy,
especially in the most affected states, in order to improve
public awareness. As Nigeria continues to improve detection
and response capacities for monkeypox cases, countries are
advised to heighten surveillance at p
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/345180/OEW37-0612092021.pdf
See also:
US - Texas: 'Very little risk to the public': Dallas County resident being treated for monkeypox, officials say - July 16, 2021
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...ated-for-monkeypox-officials-say-july-16-2021
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