Two suspected cases of the Monkey Pox virus have been found at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Lagos.

This was disclosed by our analyst, who visited the facility on May 14, 2022, around 5pm, and confirmed by one of the nurses on duty, who preferred anonymity due to the sensitivity of the cases.

According to the source, the two individuals are currently being investigated while the laboratory test is yet to confirm the blood samples for the virus.

What the nurse is saying

She said, “Two individuals (males) were rushed to the hospital on Saturday with suspected symptoms of Monkey Pox. The laboratory is currently conducting series of tests on them to confirm their status.

“We have sent the report to the top and we expect that a team of surveillance personnel are sent out to track the journey of the individuals, to contain the spread of the Monkey Pox Virus, if the cases are confirmed.”

Lagos keeps mum…

Efforts made by Nairametrics to confirm the cases were abortive, as the Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotosho, did not respond to our enquiries.

What you should know

Meanwhile, on May 12, 2022, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) stated that it was officially notified by United Kingdom (UK) authorities of a confirmed case of Monkeypox with a connection to Nigeria.

• It stated, “We would like to provide some more details about this case. On 7th May 2022, the NCDC was notified by the UK International Health Regulations (IHR) national focal point of a case of monkeypox detected in a patient with recent travel history to Nigeria. The individual is a UK resident who arrived in Nigeria on 20th April 2022, travelled to Lagos and Delta States during the time spent in Nigeria, departed Lagos on 3rd May 2022 and arrived in the UK on 4th May 2022.
• “While in Nigeria, the case did not report being in contact with anyone with symptoms of monkeypox or other illness with rash. The diagnosis of monkeypox (West African clade) was confirmed by PCR in the UK on 6th May 2022. The patient is currently stable and receiving care in the UK.”
• The NCDC added that it is investigating the incident in collaboration with the Lagos and Delta State Ministries of Health, the Monkeypox Technical Working Group comprising the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), US Centers for Disease Control (US CDC) to strengthen in-country capacity to prevent, detect and respond to Monkeypox cases in the country.
• “Since the re-emergence of monkeypox in Nigeria in September 2017, the country has continued to record sporadic cases of the disease from states across the country. Between September 2017 and 30th April 2022, a total of 558 cases and 8 deaths have been confirmed from 22 states. Of these, 15 cases have been confirmed in 2022 alone – this does NOT constitute an outbreak,” NCDC added.