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Mpox, also known as Monkeypox virus, is an infectious viral disease that can occur in humans and other animals. Symptoms include a rash that forms blisters and then crusts over, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. The illness is usually mild, and most of infected individuals recover within a few weeks without treatment. 

 The time from exposure to the onset of symptoms ranges from five to twenty-one days, and symptoms typically last from two to four weeks. However, cases may be severe, especially in children, pregnant women, or people with suppressed immune systems.

This alarming increase is linked to a new strain of the Mpox virus which emerged in eastern Congo and has since been detected in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. In Nigeria, a total of 39 confirmed cases and zero deaths have been recorded across 19 States + FCT from the beginning of the year 2024.

 When the first cases of human Monkeypox were identified in DRC , Liberia and Sierra Leone in 1970 , there were no detected cases in Nigeria, and surveillance of several non-human primates in Nigeria did not identify any Monkeypox Virus. Two cases of Mpox we’re first identified in Nigeria in 1971. The first case was a four year old female, whose rash began on 9th April.

The disease is caused by Orthopoxvirus monkeypox, formerly “monkeypox virus”, a zoonotic virus in the genus Orthopoxvirus. The variola virus, which causes smallpox, is also in this genus. Human-to-human transmission can occur through direct contact with infected skin or body fluids, including sexual contact.People remain infectious from the onset of symptoms until all the lesions have scabbed and healed. The virus may spread from infected animals through handling infected meat or via bites or scratches. Diagnosis can be confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing a lesion for the virus’s DNA.

Read Also: Rivers confirms two cases of Mpox

Vaccination is recommended for those at high risk of infection. No vaccine has been developed specifically against mpox, but smallpox vaccines have been found to be effective.

There is no specific treatment for the disease, so the aim of treatment is to manage the symptoms and prevent complications. Antiviral drugs such as tecovirimat can be used to treat mpox, although their effectiveness has not been proven.

Mpox is endemic in Central and Western Africa, where several species of mammals are suspected to act as a natural reservoir of the virus. The first human cases were diagnosed in 1970 in Basankusu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, the frequency and severity of outbreaks have significantly increased, possibly as a result of waning immunity since the cessation of routine smallpox vaccination. A global outbreak of clade II in 2022–2023 marked the first incidence of widespread community transmission outside of Africa. In July 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The WHO reverted this status in May 2023 as the outbreak came under control, citing a combination of vaccination and public health information as successful control measures.

  An outbreak of new variant of clade I mpox (known as clade Ib) was detected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during 2023. As of August 2024, it has spread to several African countries, raising concerns that it may have adapted to more sustained human transmission. On 14 August 2024, the WHO declared this outbreak a PHEIC.

The global outbreak of Mpox was declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on July 23, 2022. WHO published a strategic preparedness and response plan for mpox and a suite of technical guidance documents.  Surveillance, diagnostics, risk communication and community engagement remain central to stopping the outbreak and eliminating human-to-human transmission of mpox in all contexts.