Angela Onwuzoo A professor of Medical Virology and Microbiology, College of Medical Sciences, University of Maiduguri, Marycelin Baba, has said the treatment of persons who tested positive for mpox should be done at the designated isolation or treatment centres across the country just as it was done for COVID. Baba said Nigerians should be vigilant, especially health workers, revealing that malaria-like symptoms could be signs of mpox. The virologist said a person with mpox needed to go into isolation just as was the case for COVID to avoid spread.
In response to its growing spread and rise in fatalities, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday, declared Mpox, formerly Monkeypox, a continental public health emergency. The Director General of Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, announced this during a “special press briefing” on crucial steps and implications of the disease to Africa’s health security. According to the World Health Organisation, Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), a double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the Poxviridae family, which also includes variola, cowpox, vaccinia, and other viruses.
The virus has two genetic clades, known as clades I and II. The African continent is facing a severe public health crisis with the rapid spread of mpox, a viral disease that has already claimed numerous lives. The outbreak has swept through several African countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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