Monkeypox: 9 dead in Congo, first death in Nigeria in 2022
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- 01 Jun 2022
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Nine people have died of monkeypox in Congo in 2022, while Nigeria recorded its first death from the disease this year, the countries' health authorities said, even as at least 20 countries continue to grapple with sudden outbreaks not seen in years.
Dr. Aime Alongo, chief of the Sankuru health division in Congo, said Monday that 465 cases of the disease have been confirmed in the nation, making it one of the worst-hit in West and Central Africa, where the disease is endemic.
The persistence of the disease in Congo is due to the consumption of dead monkeys and rodents, Alongo said.
"The residents enter the forest, pick up the corpses of monkeys, bats and rodents, which are the reservoirs of monkeypox,” the official added, urging those with monkeypox symptoms to visit a health center to isolate themselves.
Nigeria, meanwhile, recorded its first death from monkeypox this year in a patient with underlying medical conditions, the diseases control agency said Sunday.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention announced that in 2022 it has confirmed 21 out of 66 suspected cases of the disease, which is usually endemic in Nigeria and other parts of West and Central Africa.
"The death was reported in a 40-year-old patient who had underlying co-morbidity and was on immunosuppressive medications," the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (CDC) said.
Nigeria has not had an outbreak of monkeypox since September 2017 but it continues to report sporadic cases. At least 247 have been confirmed in 22 of its 36 states since then with a 3.6% fatality rate, the disease control agency said. Read More…
