The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned on Thursday that the mpox outbreak in Africa remains uncontrolled, with cases continuing to rise in several countries. After identifying a new variant, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
The continent is struggling to manage another major health crisis, following the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed weaknesses in its health systems.
Mpox cases in Africa have surged by 177%, with deaths rising by 38.5% compared to the same period last year, according to Africa CDC data.
“We can say today that mpox is not under control in Africa. We still have this increase of cases that is worrying for all of us,” said Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, during a weekly briefing.
Over one week, 2,912 new cases were reported, including a case in Morocco, marking the spread of the disease across all four regions of the continent.
The Africa CDC reported that 15 of the 55 African Union member states have recorded mpox cases. “We still have people dying from mpox in Africa. In one week, 14 people lost their lives,” said Kaseya.
He noted that both Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo have two strains of the virus circulating, but limited surveillance and testing make it unclear if this is happening in other countries as well.
Kaseya also mentioned that Rwanda has begun its vaccination campaign, while the Democratic Republic of Congo, the outbreak’s epicenter, plans to start vaccinations in early October.
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