Zeitschrift für Gemeinde- und öffentliche Gesundheitspflege

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Community Awareness Strategies: Keys to Prevention of Epidemics of Monkeypox in Nigeria

Oparanma Florence Uche, GoodLuck Azuonwu

This paper examines community awareness strategies keys to prevention of epidemics of monkey pox in Nigeria.Monkeypox infection is a zoonotic infection transmitted by direct or indirect contact with blood, body fluids and lesions of an infected animal. Human to human spread of Monkey pox has been described and infection is usually self-limiting,with an incubation period of 6-16 days. In Nigeria, according to information provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, between 1971 and 1978, 10 human monkey pox infections were reported in the country. In September 2017,human monkeypox re-emerged in Nigeria, after 39 years when it was last reported. The 2017 human monkeypox outbreak in the country was large. Laboratory diagnosis, as well as management and prevention of monkey pox infection in Nigeria, remain challenging as Nigeria is a resource-poor country with limited infrastructure, technical skill and training which is required in making a diagnosis. Therefore, this paper examines strategies to preventing the epidemics of monkeypox in Nigeria.