A’Ibom traces six Mpox cases to one household

According to Akwa Ibom State's National Orientation Agency, the government has linked six Mpox cases to a single residence in the state.

The administration started a sensitisation campaign to inform the public about the state's Mpox disease prevalence and prevention as a result of the development.

This comes as the Ministry of Health reported that eight instances of the Mpox outbreak were reported in Akwa Ibom State.

According to data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, on September 11, 2024, Nigeria reported 67 confirmed cases of Mpox out of 1,031 suspected cases in 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

There are eight confirmed cases in Akwa Ibom, eight in Enugu, six in Bayelsa, five in Cross River, four in Benue, four in Plateau, four in Delta, three in FCT, three in Imo, three in Lagos, two in Abia, two in Osun, two in Anambra, and two in Ogun.

In addition, there is one each from Kaduna, Gombe, Edo, Niger, Ebonyi, Nasarawa, Kebbi, and Oyo.

In an interview with reporters on Monday, Mr. Mkpoutom Mkpoutom, the NOA coordinator for Akwa Ibom State, stated that the NCDC was able to identify the six cases in a single home after they moved from the state's Onna Local Government Area to the state capital, Uyo.

About six individuals in one home in Onna LGA were afflicted, and regrettably, they had to relocate to Uyo for some unknown reasons before the NCDC was able to trace and get down here.

“I think you can see how the thing spread and Uyo now became the second place affected,” he said.

He disclosed that the affected persons had been quarantined while contact tracing was ongoing.

Mkpoutom added that the agency’s staff had been dispatched to affected councils since last week after receiving instructions from the state ministry of health.

“I am sure that you are very much aware that Akwa Ibom is having the highest cases of Mpox right now as we speak.

“So, my people have been on the field since last week when we had the instruction from the ministry of health, in partnership with the state agency on health matters.
"At least ten local government areas are severely impacted, with Uyo, Onna, Mkpat Enin, and Ikot Ekpene among the most severely impacted." For now, at least ten. The implication is that Akwa Ibom has a high rate of Mpox sickness throughout the entire federation," he stated.

He pointed out that roughly six people in one home were afflicted by the illness in the Onna Local Government Area alone.

Mkpoutom urged the state's citizens to report any similar incidents to the closest medical facility so they can receive care.

"We kindly request that individuals report instances of this kind. People should not mistake it for common rashes (krokro); it is not, and it spreads fast. Bush meat is the source of this infection.

"At first, it was thought to have been transferred by monkeys, but after doing some investigation, we found that monkeys are not the only ones who spread it. Even rats are responsible for its spread. "And it spreads to the house when it gets into a man," he warned.