By NewsDesk   @bactiman63

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their travel notice for Nigeria due to an ongoing monkeypox outbreak this week. The federal health agency notes:

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Since September 2017, an outbreak of monkeypox has been ongoing in Nigeria. As of April 2019, health officials have reported more than 300 cases of monkeypox, including multiple deaths. In late 2018, three travelers infected with monkeypox in Nigeria returned home (two to the United Kingdom and one to Israel). There was also a reported secondary case of the disease in a health care worker in the United Kingdom. Most recently, in May 2019, the Singapore Ministry of Health reported a fourth exported case of the disease in a traveler who arrived from Nigeria. These are the first cases of monkeypox reported outside Africa since 2003.

Monkeypox: Q&A with Dr Warren Andiman

Because monkeypox spreads through contact with animals or humans infected with the virus, CDC advises travelers to Nigeria to take the following steps to prevent illness:

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water.
  • Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. If you need to touch your face, make sure your hands are clean.
  • Avoid close contact with ill people.
  • Avoid contact with wild animals or wild animal products or meat (such as bushmeat) that could harbor the virus (including sick or dead animals found in areas where monkeypox occurs).
  • Avoid contact with any materials, such as bedding, that have been in contact with a sick person or animal.

Monkeypox is a rare disease that occurs throughout remote parts of Central and West Africa, often near tropical rain forests. Fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and exhaustion are followed by a rash. Patients are usually ill for 2–4 weeks. Monkeypox is fatal in as many as 10% of people who get it.