The Monkey Pox technical working group of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has been trained in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for surveillance, epidemiology, and environmental modelling to curb the infectious disease.
NCDC gave the update on X, crediting the American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with facilitating the training.
Monkeypox, now referred to as Mpox, is a viral disease that originated in the Central and West African regions and became a global health concern.
The Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Ghebreyesus, declared the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern for Monkeypox in May, 2023.
WHO’s recommendations for tackling Mpox
However, the WHO issued the following recommendations with the aim of controlling and eliminating human-to-human transmission of Monkeypox, especially in the African region;
1. Have national Monkeypox plans integrated into their broader health system. Capabilities that have already been built in resource-limited settings and among marginalised groups should be sustained.
2. Strengthen and sustain testing and surveillance capacity, and ensure that new cases of Monkeypox are notified nationally and to WHO.
3. Protect communities through communication and community engagement; continue to build trust; and fight stigma and discrimination.
4. Invest in research to better understand Mpox disease and transmission patterns, and to develop improved vaccines, tests, and treatments.
5. Provide travellers with information to protect themselves and others before, during, and after travel and refrain from implementing travel-related health measures, including Monkeypox screening and testing for travellers.
6. Deliver optimal clinical care for Monkeypox patients, integrated within HIV and STI programmes, with access to treatments and measures to protect health workers and carers.
7. Work towards equitable access to safe, effective, and quality-assured vaccines, tests, and treatments for Monkeypox.
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