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Project Summary
After the eradication of smallpox virus, monkeypox virus has emerged as the most important human Orthopoxvirus pathogen. Although Monkeypox was first identified over 70 years ago, gaps still exist in our understanding of its epidemiology, suboptimal case detection and surveillance capacity in most affected countries.
The recent resurgence of monkeypox in some African countries, its potential as a biological weapon and the continued exportation of the disease to non-African countries has placed monkeypox on the global public health agenda. Since 22nd September 2017, Nigeria continues to record cases of monkeypox disease in several of its states and supports the notion that monkeypox could be endemic in Nigeria.
This collaborative study between University College London and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) aims to improve the monkeypox surveillance in Nigeria and utilize the system to determine the burden, source(s), geographical distribution, transmission of monkeypox in Nigeria and also investigate the secondary attack rates among contacts and risk factors for acquisition of monkeypox.
This study is supported through the Pan-African Network for Rapid Research, Response, Relief and Preparedness for Infectious Diseases Epidemics (PANDORA-ID-NET): an EDCTP funded one health consortium of fifteen (15) African and nine (9) European countries.