Monkeypox Virus

“In the Heart of Nigeria Rainforest, NVRI Scientists Track Animal Origin of Monkeypox Virus :

April 2025 – Deep in the dense, biodiversity rainforest of Nigeria’s Cross River National Park, a team of scientists led by NVRI that included NCDC, AFENET, State and Park Officers embarked on a critical mission to uncover unknown animal hosts of the monkeypox virus. From April 15 to 25, this intensive surveillance effort, navigated some of the country’s most remote and treacherous  terrain into Mkpot village in Akankpa LGA of Cross River State. The expedition is part of a broader strategy to answer urgent questions about how monkeypox virus spread in wildlife, spill over to humans and what that means for public health in Nigeria and beyond. Understanding the ecological drivers and animal reservoirs of the virus is essential for national, regional, and global control efforts.
This mission aligns with NVRI’s core mandate in infectious diseases and zoonoses surveillance, diagnosis, and research. Through a combination of disease ecology and laboratory analysis the team hopes to generate data that could inform future prevention and response strategies under the global “One Health” framework.