The West African Health Organisation (WAHO) has warned Nigerians against bush meat consumption, saying it is one of the vessels for spreading Mpox, formerly Monkeypox disease, in the country.
LEADERSHIP reports that Mpox is a disease that causes flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, and a rash that can take weeks to clear.
However, speaking at the National One Health Surveillance and Information Sharing Operational Tool (SIS-OT) Operational Workshop, the WAHO Technical Advisor on Cross-Border Surveillance, Dr Aisha Usman, disclosed that Mpox is endemic in Nigeria due to the number of affected persons recorded since the outbreak of the disease in 2020.
Usman, however, assured that the National Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) is on top of the disease by ensuring an emergency guide, management, and a series of training for health workers to contain the spread.
“For the West African regions, we have four countries that have confirmed cases of Monkeypox, including Nigeria. In Nigeria specifically, we can say that monkeypox is endemic here because we have been reporting cases since 2022. I believe the NCDC is on top of the situation. They have an emergency guide and management and a series of training that have been conducted.
“What we are doing here today is to strengthen surveillance because when we talk of surveillance, it means information sharing group that we will be using, especially when we have an outbreak like this or in preparation before having any outbreak or epidemic.”
She, however, said that the source of Mpox remains unknown, but it is spread from animals to humans, humans to humans, and animals to animals.
“At the end of the workshop, we believe stakeholders within the human environment and animal sector will be able to have a joint coordination where we can share information jointly to make decisions and plans together,’’ she said.
