Benue records 31 suspected Mpox cases across five LGAs

Benue State has reported a total of 31 suspected Mpox cases across five Local Government Areas (LGAs), including Makurdi, Ushongo, Gwer East, Katsina-Ala, and Guma.

Mrs. Grace Wende, the Executive Secretary of the Benue State Primary Health Care Board, disclosed this information on Thursday during the Benue State Stakeholders engagement and Town Hall meeting focused on the Mpox Vaccination Rollout.

She stated that out of these, six cases were officially confirmed.

Speaking through the State Immunisation Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Adega, she revealed that there were 10 unconfirmed instances in Makurdi, eight in Katsina-Ala, seven in Gwer East, four in Guma, and two in Ushongo LGAs.

She said, “Of the figures, we have confirmed one case in Gwer East, two cases in Katsina-Ala, three cases in Makurdi and one case in Guma LGAs.

These cases were recorded in June and samples were collected and taken to the Laboratory. The results were released in July.

Mrs. Wende added that all individuals who had contact with the confirmed cases have been identified, their names recorded, and they have been monitored for 43 days without developing the disease.

These contacts are now scheduled to receive vaccinations.

She emphasized that the upcoming Mpox vaccination drive would not be conducted throughout the entire state but would instead focus on communities at higher risk of an outbreak.

The Executive Secretary called on all relevant stakeholders to actively support the vaccination campaign and urged timely reporting of any suspected Mpox cases to enable swift intervention by health officials.

During his presentation, UNICEF’s Social and Behaviour Change Health Consultant, Victor Olaniyi, explained that “Mpox is an infectious viral disease that can occur in humans and other animals.”

He described the disease’s symptoms, which include blistering rashes that eventually crust, fever, and swollen lymph nodes.