Mpox: Nigeria escalates surveillance at entry points

The federal government has intensified monitoring and screening procedures at all entry points in response to the threat of Mpox, Clade 1.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this in a statement yesterday evening in Abuja.

He noted that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the Nigeria Ports Health Services, under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, had been taking steps to fortify Nigeria’s defences even before the declaration of Mpox as a public health emergency by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

He explained that mpox, caused by a highly contagious and deadly Monkeypox virus, has been causing widespread devastation in several regions of Africa, adding that this has prompted the World Health Organization to declare it a Global Health Emergency, necessitating urgent and coordinated international action to contain its spread and mitigate its impact.

Pate stated that this Mpox Clade 1 strain has caused fatalities in up to 10% of individuals who have fallen ill in previous outbreaks. He added that the aim is to tackle and mitigate its impact by deploying measures similar to those used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister, in the statement which was signed by his Special Adviser on Media and External Relations, Tashikalmah Hallah, further explained that the government had implemented a new mandate requiring all travellers to complete an online health declaration form before departing for the country.

He added that this measure is being introduced alongside the activation of infectious disease centres in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He urged the public to practise good hygiene, frequent hand washing with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially after contact with an infected person or animal.