The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed 40 cases of Mpox out of 830 suspected cases reported across the country. Director-general of the center, Dr. Jide Idris who disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, said the confirmed cases were spread across 12 to 13 states, with significant numbers in the South-South, South-East, Lagos, Ogun, and some states in the North.
He, therefore, said the NCDC planned to focus efforts on these states to reduce the number of cases. “We currently have 40 confirmed cases out of 830 suspected ones. Thankfully, there have been no deaths, which is remarkable,” Dr.
Idris stated. He also expressed the NCDC’s efforts to enhance laboratory services to improve testing capacity. “All the confirmed cases were identified through genomic sequencing conducted in two laboratories: the National Research Lab in Abuja and another in Lagos.
However, due to the spread of the virus, we are expanding the number of laboratories involved in testing, including NIMA, LUTH, and the African Center for Genomics,” he explained. Dr. Idris emphasised the importance of boosting laboratory capabilities, particularly in the South-South and South-East regions, noting that while many laboratories in the network can perform PCR testing, they may lack the capacity to test specifically for Mpox.
The NCDC plans to address this by providing necessary training, reagents, and consumables, he added. Meanwhile, the World Health Organ.