Alarm raised as Mpox cases rise

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has reported that Mpox remains a significant public health issue.

The Centre said that 489 new cases of Mpox, and 53 deaths were confirmed in the past week.

Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, disclosed this during a weekly briefing on disease outbreaks in the continent.

According to Kaseya, Mpox continues to be a serious public health challenge in Africa.

“A total of 3,186 new cases were reported in the past week, with 489 confirmed and 53 deaths.

“While we do not see a reduction in deaths, there is an increase in cases compared to previous weeks,” he said.

He said that there was the need to accelerate interventions, including vaccination, to curb the spread.

Kaseya highlighted a vaccination campaign launched in the DRC, the hardest-hit country, where more than 1,600 people have been vaccinated, primarily in the eastern region.

He said that Nigeria, which recently received 10,000 doses of the Mpox vaccine from the US, was set to begin vaccination in the coming days.

According to him, Arica expects to receive 10 million doses from international partners.

“In 2024, over 38,300 cases have been recorded across 16 African countries, with 979 deaths. Ghana and Zambia are the latest countries to report Mpox outbreak.

“Mpox typically presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions,” he said.

He also addressed concerns about the Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda, reassuring that the risk of the country exporting the disease was extremely low.

NAN