Vincent Ehosa (not real name), an Edo State-based land seller, who recently joined the 133 confirmed monkeypox cases in Nigeria, has said that he didn’t know how he contracted the disease.

After four days of complaining of fever, headache, fatigue and cough, 40-year-old Ehosa tested positive for monkeypox in Benin City this month. 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ehosa went to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Edo State, four days after symptoms such as unusual body rashes, fever and headache emerged.

“The rashes covered my whole body, and I have no explanation on how I contracted the disease because I did not travel, eat bush meat or have contact with bush or domestic animals in the last 30 days,” Ehosa told WHO on Tuesday.

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“Before contracting the disease, I had limited knowledge of it, but now I know more about monkeypox and that the disease is contagious.” 

Ehosa said he had provided a list of people he was in contact with within the previous 14 days to health officers for necessary contact tracing.

Another monkeypox patient claimed he had no idea of how he contracted the disease. Emmanuel Osazee (not real name), a 22-year-old undergraduate student residing in Benin City, went to the hospital with fever, nausea and itching lesions.

“I have been at home due to the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union Universities. I do not know how I contracted the disease but there is a dog in our compound, though I had no contact with it,” Osazee said.

Benson Okwara, a doctor at the UBTH, said that monkeypox was spreading within communities because of late presentation of cases at the hospital. 

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“With WHO’s coordination, there is an early response following notification of suspected/confirmed cases with detailed case investigations using the monkeypox Case Investigation Form (CIF) to collect data on patient contacts,” Okwara said. 

“There is a need for continuous risk messaging to educate people about infectious diseases and the importance of seeking medical care early and at appropriate health facilities to prevent the spread of diseases.”

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and WHO have activated a mechanism called the Monkeypox Emergency Operations Centre to strengthen in-country preparedness. 

Nigeria has reported 357 suspected monkeypox cases in 2022, while NCDC has confirmed 133 cases in 24 states and the FCT. The states include Lagos, Rivers, Edo, Anambra, Borno, Oyo, Kano and Ogun.