Claim: Russian defence ministry claims that the West African Mpox variant originated from Nigeria.
The claim by the Russian defence ministry that the West African Mpox variant originated from Nigeria is misleading. There is no such WHO report that said categorically the West African variant of the Mpox originated from Nigeria.
Full Text
Recently, Russia’s Ministry of Defence released a report it described as the results of an analysis the ministry conducted. In the report, Russia’s defence ministry claimed that the West African strain of Mpox from Nigeria, citing a World Health Organisation (WHO) report
“According to a WHO report, the introduction of the West African strain of the mpox pathogen originated from Nigeria, another state in which the United States has deployed its biological infrastructure,” the ministry said.
Mpox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, though clinically less severe.
Verification
WHO reports: The origins of the West African clade of Mpox
The WHO has published two reports on mpox that have direct mentions of Nigeria. The first is titled “Mpox” and was published on 19th May, 2022. The second report titled “Multi-country mpox outbreak in non-endemic countries” was published on 21st May 2022. While both reports indicated the presence of the West African clade Mpox, none of the reports mentioned that it originated in Nigeria.
In the first report, “Mpox,” Nigeria is pinpointed to have experienced a large outbreak of an unspecified type of Mpox.
“Since 2017, Nigeria has experienced a large outbreak, with over 500 suspected cases and over 200 confirmed cases and a case fatality ratio of approximately 3%. Cases continue to be reported until today.”
The report further indicates that the first report of Mpox outside Africa was in the US, with sources from Ghana and The Gambia.
“In 2003, the first mpox outbreak outside of Africa was in the United States of America and was linked to contact with infected pet prairie dogs. These pets had been housed with Gambian pouched rats and dormice that had been imported into the country from Ghana. This outbreak led to over 70 cases of mpox in the U.S.”
The report further added that Mpox (unspecified) was subsequently found in travellers from Nigeria to Israel, the UK, the US, and Singapore.
“Mpox has also been reported in travellers from Nigeria to Israel in September 2018, to the United Kingdom in September 2018, December 2019, May 2021 and May 2022, to Singapore in May 2019, and to the United States of America in July and November 2021. In May 2022, multiple cases of mpox were identified in several non-endemic countries.”
Mpox endemic countries are: Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana (identified in animals only), Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone. Benin and South Sudan have documented importations in the past.
Nonetheless, the reports say that countries currently reporting cases of the West African clade are Cameroon and Nigeria.
Even if this was the material the Russian Ministry of Defence was referring to, further data presented on the same report, specifically on “cases of Mpox in endemic countries between 15th December 2021 to May 2022” showed that Cameroon had reported cases of Mpox before Nigeria.
Although Nigeria is widely mentioned as a country with cases of Mpox in both reports, it should be noted that none of them specifically insinuated or specifically mentioned the West African variant originated in Nigeria.
Looking closely, the statement from the Russian Defence Ministry seems to lack accuracy and reliability.
“According to a WHO report, the introduction of the West African strain of the mpox pathogen originated from Nigeria.”
The statement failed to mention the title of the WHO report, failed to provide a quote, failed to state when the WHO report was released, and even failed to provide a link or reference to the said WHO report.
Dr Desu from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) clarified that the origin of the West African variant of the Mpox has not been categorically stated.
“Nobody can categorically say where the West African variant of the Mpox originated from. Although the variant resurfaced in Nigeria in 2017, there is no available literature that says where it originated from.”
Conclusion
The claim by the Russian defence ministry that the West African Mpox variant originated from Nigeria is misleading. There is no such WHO report that said categorically the West African variant of the Mpox originated from Nigeria.
Editor’s Note: The word “Monkeypox” was reviewed to mpox, following the WHO guideline.
