The latest situation report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has shown that 67 per cent of Mpox cases recorded since January 2024 were reported in men.
According to the report published on the NCDC website on Monday, a total of 1,031 suspected cases have been reported in 47 local government areas across 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The age and sex distribution of the report shows that children under five are the most affected, followed by the 26-30 and 46-50 age groups. In total, 67 cases have been confirmed in 2024.
The NCDC established that men are predominantly affected and account for approximately 70 percent of the 6,001 suspected and confirmed cases of mpox recorded in Nigeria since September 2017, when the first confirmed cases occurred.
However, Nigeria has not recorded any deaths from the disease in 2024, compared to 2022 and 2023, when two and seven deaths were reported respectively.
Concerns for children
NCDC data raises concern about young children's susceptibility to the disease.
Of the total 64 confirmed cases recorded in 2024, children under five years of age accounted for the largest number of cases with a total of 15 confirmed cases.
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Reacting to the pattern of Mpox cases in Nigeria, the Country Director of Busara Centre for Behavioural Economics, a civil society group, Mohammed Alhaji, in a Linkedin post, noted the need to initiate strategies to prevent the disease in children.
Source: NCDC Situation Report, Epi-Week 36
He wrote: “I have been following the historical pattern of mpox cases in Nigeria, with particular attention to the age distribution. Although it may be too early to draw conclusions, it appears that the current outbreak is the first in which children are the most affected.
“If this is indeed the case, there is an urgent need to develop strategies to prevent further escalation in this vulnerable age group.”
In her commentary, Media EIS Fellowship Resident Advisor and Public Health Physician Olayinka Badmus said: “We should indeed be concerned about children. Not only are they the most affected, but most cases co-exist with chickenpox. Sadly, I don’t see how the education and health sectors are working together to focus on this key population.”
2024 Outbreak
Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, and fever. Most people recover completely, but some become seriously ill.
The disease can spread from animals to humans and between humans through close contact, respiratory droplets and contaminated objects.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared it a global public health emergency.
While the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the epicenter of the outbreak in Africa, Mpox cases have been reported in at least 14 African countries.
To reduce transmission and contain the outbreak, WHO announced on Friday the approval of the MVA-BN vaccine as the first Mpox vaccine to be added to its prequalification list.
Nigeria recently received a donation of 10,000 doses of Jynneos, an Mpox vaccine, from the US government.
On September 5, Africa CDC also announced the arrival of the first shipment of 99,100 doses of the Jynneos Mpox vaccine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).