The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has said that the number of mpox cases has surpassed 45,000 since the beginning of the year. During an online media briefing, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said that since the beginning of this year, a total of 18 African countries had reported 45,327 monkeypox cases, of which 9,114 were confirmed, while the number of deaths had surpassed the 1,000 mark. Kaseya also said that in the past week alone, the African continent reported 2,729 new cases, of which 1,001 were confirmed, and 36 new deaths were recorded.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi accounted for 96 per cent of all new confirmed cases. Africa CDC data shows that the Central Africa region registered 85.5 per cent of all reported cases and 99.
5 per cent of deaths. In mid-August, the Africa CDC declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency. Soon after, the World Health Organization (WHO) also declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern.
Mpox, earlier known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that’s caused by the monkeypox virus. It is a zoonotic disease and was first discovered in monkeys. Hence, it was named monkeypox.
Mpox usually causes painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. While most people recover from the condition, some people might get very sick. The virus spreads from person to person through touch, kissing or sex.
However, from animals, it usually spreads when .
