In Africa, a total of 48,093 cases of mpox have been recorded, of which 10,372 have been confirmed, with 1,048 deaths since the beginning of 2024 in 19 countries on the continent, according to the public health agency of the African Union. This number represents an increase compared to the previous week, especially following the detection of a new case in Mauritius. The current situation was deemed concerning by epidemiologist Ngashi Ngongo from the Africa CDC, who noted that the situation is still not under control.
The mpox outbreak has its epicenter in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with 94% of the newly confirmed infections in the past week occurring in this country and Burundi. These figures show an increase compared to previous weeks, with a total of 1,254 newly confirmed cases and 34 deaths in the last seven days, including the first death from mpox in Uganda.
Despite these alarming data, some countries like Gabon, Guinea-Conakry, Rwanda, Cameroon, and South Africa have reported no new cases in the last five weeks. Regarding vaccination, Rwanda and the DRC have achieved a high coverage rate in their campaigns, even exceeding the proposed target.
Africa has received nearly 5.6 million doses of mpox vaccines, with the distribution of 899,000 doses from Bavarian Nordic to nine AU member states so far. The Africa CDC declared mpox as a continental public health security emergency in August, followed by an international health alert from WHO the following day.
The clade Ib variant of mpox has shown rapid expansion and high mortality in Africa, with the first case identified outside the continent in Sweden. This infectious disease can cause a range of symptoms such as skin rash, lymph node swelling, fever, headache, muscle pain, among others.