Mpox crisis: Virus cases logged in Africa this year exceed last year's total
File photo.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Saturday (Aug 18) that the total number of suspected or confirmed cases of mpox,logged across the continent since the beginning of this year, has already exceeded the total reported in 2023.
As of Saturday,12 of the African Union's 55 member states have experiencedmpoxoutbreaks, with a total of 18,737 cases reported since the beginning of 2024.The figure includes 3,101 confirmed cases, 15,636 suspected cases, and 541 fatalities, with a mortality rate of 2.89 per cent.
In 2023, a little over 14,300 cases of mpox were seen
The latest cases include 3 strains of mpox
The latest cases includethree strains of the virus. One of these strains is thedeadly Clade 1b which began spreading in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in September 2023, and the country remains the epicenter of the current global outbreak.
Presently, thempoxoutbreak has spread beyond Africa, with confirmed cases reported in Sweden and Pakistan.Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the rise in monkeypox cases a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
More imported cases of mpox strain in Europe expected
On Friday, theEuropean Centre for Disease Prevention (European CDC) and Control warned that more cases ofmpoxclade I strain would appear in the continent in the coming weeks but the risk of sustained transmission remained low.
"There will be more cases in the coming weeks. That's the expectation... But regarding the risk [for the] general European population, we have to say that our assessment is that the risk is very low at the moment," European CDC Director Pamela Rendi-Wagner said.
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She called for European countries to step up preparedness and raise awareness to prevent further spread.
The European CDC recommended that public health authorities plan and prepare for quick detection of any clade I cases that may reach Europe.
(With inputs from agencies)