Monkeypox spread to 11 states, 74 suspected cases recorded -Health Minister

*Dispels rumour of military involvement in vaccination

Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

The Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, has disclosed that the Monkeypox virus outbreak has spread to 11 states with 74 suspected cases recorded.

Adewole made the disclosure on Wednesday when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House Council Chamber, Abuja.

The Federal Government had on October 11, confirmed that 33 suspected cases of the virus were recorded in seven states.

The minister also dismissed the rumour that the military was spreading Monkeypox virus through vaccination.

He said that the military was never involved in any vaccination in the country, adding that any vaccination must involve state governments and the Federal Ministry of Health.

He said, “It is also important to dispel the rumour circulating in the country that the military is vaccinating people and trying to spread Monkey Pox across the country. The military is not involved in any vaccination exercise.

“And I must also educate Nigerians about how vaccination campaigns are done. The Federal Government will take the lead but we do not conduct campaign without working with states. “So, there is no way we will do campaign without working with the states.”

The minister, who updated the Council on development over the outbreak of monkey pox, listed the affected states as Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa and Rivers.

Adewole said, “The Council also received an update on the state of the public health of the nation. We informed the council about the latest development in respect of the Monkey Pox virus outbreak. So far as of today, there are 74 suspected cases in 11 states of the country.

“We have confirmed three from Bayelsa and 12 of the suspected cases from Bayelsa tested negative; four suspected cases from Lagos tested negative. We are still expecting the results of the other ones.

“We are also doing test at the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Edeh, to really understand the genomics of this virus.

“Even when they are negative, the laboratory attendant should be able to tell us what exactly they are.”