Janice R. Andrews
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed eight more cases of mumps in the past week. There are now 48 confirmed cases of mumps in Nigeria. The agency said these are some of 868 potential cases that have been found in 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The virus has now been found in 35 Local Government Areas, and at least one case has been confirmed in 19 states and the FCT. Eight new cases were identified in epidemiological week 34, compared to just one in week 33. This was a big change. Even though the number of cases has gone up, the NCDC has told the public that no deaths have been reported yet, and the agency is still keeping a close eye on things.
The most recent Mpox status report on the NCDC website shows that the proven cases are spread out across the states as follows: Lagos (one), Rivers (two), Bayelsa (six), Abia (one), Delta (two), Imo (one), Edo (one), FCT (two), Anambra (two), Cross River (five), Plateau (two), Akwa Ibom (four), Nasarawa (one), Oyo (one), Kaduna (one), Ebonyi (one), Benue (three), Enugu (eight), Osun (two), Kebbi (one), and Zamfara (one).
The report pointed out that there were 57 new suspected cases in epidemiological week 34, which is a big jump from the 25 suspected cases reported in week 33. The large number of proven cases and the fact that the disease is spreading quickly across the country show how important it is to keep up the alertness and reaction efforts to stop the outbreak.
The age range of the proven cases shows that it affects a lot of different age groups. Nineteen cases were reported in people ages 21 to 30, eight cases in people ages 31 to 40, and seven cases in people ages 41 to 50. It happened to people ages 0 to 10, 11 to 20, 21 to 30. This spread across age groups shows that Mpox affects a wide range of people, which means that specific education and safety steps are needed.
The US government gave Nigeria 10,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to help stop the spread of the disease. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared this vaccine to protect adults who are at risk from getting smallpox and mumps. It was publicly given to the Nigerian government in Abuja.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has also made it clear again that mumps is a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS), since the number of cases has grown by 160% this year. This statement shows how important it is for everyone on the continent to work together to stop the disease from spreading even more and deal with the growing number of cases.
As attempts to stop the Mpox spread get tougher, the NCDC keeps telling people to stay informed and follow health advisories.
