BackgroundMonkeypox (MPX) is endemic in Nigeria, but it was first reported in Adamawa state, North-Eastern Nigeria, in January 2022. There are currently 172 cases of MPX in Nigeria, with four reported deaths, and Adamawa has the second-highest case count. Therefore, this study was undertaken to evaluate the epidemiological profile of this viral disease.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study. The skin and blood samples were screened for the presence for Monkeypox virus (MPXV) and Varicella Zoster virus (VZV) DNA by real-time PCR; the clinical diagnosis was based on symptoms of visual signs of skin lesions and other clinical symptoms from January to July 2022.ResultsA total of 33 suspected cases aged 1–57 years [26 (79%) males vs. 7 (21%) females] were screened for MPX and VZV. Twenty-four (72.7%) were positive (6.1% were MPX only, 39% were VZV only, and 27% were both MPX and VZV). Most cases of MPX (82%), VZV (69%) and MPX-VZV co-infection (78%) occurred in males. More than half (54%) of those infected were children and adolescents between 0 and 19 years. All patients experienced body rashes and itching, and other clinical symptoms included fever, headache, mouth sores, muscle aches and lymphadenopathy. Over 64 and 86% of patients had contact with livestock and rodents, respectively.ConclusionMPXV, VZV and MPXV-VZV co-infections occurred predominantly among males and children in Adamawa state, Nigeria. Given the patient contact with rodents and livestock, further research on the animal reservoir is needed to highlight the transmission of MPXV in Adamawa.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) face an unprecedented higher risk of COVID-19 infection due to their work and exposure. In this study, we aim to examine the associated risk factors for COVID-19 infection among HCWs in North-East Nigeria. We used data collected retrospectively among a cohort of clinical and non-clinical HCWs in six healthcare facilities in Adamawa State, Nigeria. We estimated the marginal probability of COVID-19 infection among HWCs using alternating logistic regression via the generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach. Among the 318 HCWs, 178 (55.97%) were males, mean (±SD) age was 36.81 (±8.98), 237 (74.76%) were clinical, and 80 (25.24) were non-clinical staff. The overall prevalence of COVID-19 was 16.67% among HCWs. After adjusting for other variables in the model, our results showed that clinical staff had a 5-fold higher risk of COVID-19 infection than non-clinical staff (aOR = 5.07, 95% CI: 1.32–19.52). Moreover, significant exposure risk factors for COVID-19 infection for HCWs increase with age, time spent attending to patients, caring for COVID-19 patients, and having worked with COVID-19 samples, while the risk decreases with the use of an N95 mask. Our findings suggested that the burden of COVID-19 infection is higher for clinical staff than non-clinical staff, and increasing age contributed to the increased risk.

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