The Chief of Public Health for UNICEF Nigeria, Eduardo Celades, shares details on why Nigeria has no vaccine for children against Mpox among the 10,000 doses the nation has received.
During the recent global outbreak of Mpox, Nigeria, one of the affected regions, received 10,000 doses of vaccine against Mpox; however, these have not been approved for children. Giving details, Celades shared that only three nations—the United States, Denmark, and Japan—majorly produce the vaccine. Among these, those produced in the US and Denmark are suitable for people over 18. While that of Japan is approved for children, it is currently only approved for Japanese Children.
The vaccine for Mpox is scarce because it is not a regular case. The current vaccine is an evolved form of the smallpox vaccine. Mpox is less severe than smallpox, which has been successfully eradicated. Symptoms of Mpox include headache, fever, joint pain, and a painful rash that tends to spread. While these symptoms can be associated with other conditions like measles, chickenpox, or bacterial skin infection, suspected cases should be reported to the nearest healthcare centre.
How Mpox is Being Managed in Nigeria
Prevention and isolation are still the best strategies. Confirmed cases need to be isolated to prevent further spread as the disease is highly transmittable by contact. Treating Mpox involves supportive therapy as there are no specific medications. Paracetamol can alleviate pain, and calamine can be used for rash and lesions.
Of the three types of Mpox, Nigeria, like other parts of West Africa with the outbreak, is experiencing Clade II, which is the least severe of the trio. The other two are Clade I and Clade IB. To ensure the situation doesn’t worsen in Nigeria, awareness has to be in place so residents can report suspected cases, and movements must be monitored so the other two severe types of Mpox don’t break into the country.
The Chief of Public Health is optimistic that Nigeria would be able to curtail this as they did in 2014 with the outbreak of the Ebola virus.
