What needs to be done to prepare for the next outbreak?It’s unlikely to be a mutation because monkeypox virus is a DNA virus, which does not change much and has much less propensity for mutation and variant generation, like SARS-CoV-2, which is an RNA virus. But to be on the safe side, we should do our sequencing so that we’ll know exactly what we’re facing and be able compare with what they have in Europe right now.
We must also make communities aware that this is going on. We now know that a UK resident who arrived in Nigeria on April 20, 2022, and travelled to Lagos and Delta states departed Lagos on May 3, 2022, and arrived in the UK, wherewas confirmed on 6 May, 2022. This information is enough to alert us that someone was infected with monkeypox through contact with a Nigerian, while in Nigeria. We should conduct contact tracing to determine if there are more cases.
It should also be used as an opportunity to get information across to our people and make them aware that we still have this disease and provide prevention and control guidelines. If somebody has a rash, that person should report to the hospital for further investigation and hospital staff should put in place, infection prevention and control procedures – including wearing gloves and other protective materials.
The other reason for concern is that there is no specific treatment or vaccine available for monkeypox infection. In the past, the anti-smallpox vaccine