MPOX CASES REPORTED IN AFRICA UP 160 PERCENT: AFRICA CDC

Sun 04 August 2024:

Fifteen African countries have reported 1,451 mpox-related deaths since the beginning of 2022, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has disclosed.

The Africa CDC, in its latest continental mpox situation report issued on Wednesday, said a total of 37,583 mpox cases and 1,451 deaths had been reported from 15 African Union (AU) member states from the beginning of 2022 to July 28, 2024, with a fatality rate of 3.9 percent.

According to the specialized healthcare agency of the AU, from the beginning of this year to July 28, a total of 14,250 mpox cases and 456 deaths have been reported from 10 African countries, with a fatality rate of 3.2 percent.

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Data from the Africa CDC show that the number of new mpox cases and deaths reported so far this year represented a 160 percent and 19 percent increase, respectively, compared to the same period in 2023.

The 10 African countries that have reported mpox cases this year include Burundi, Cameroon, the Central Africa Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa, it was noted.

The DRC accounted for about 96.3 percent of all cases and 97 percent of all deaths reported this year.

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, first detected in laboratory monkeys in 1958, is assumed to transmit from wild animals such as rodents to people, or from human to human. It is a rare viral disease that is usually transmitted through body fluids, respiratory droplets, and other contaminated materials. The infection usually results in fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.

-Xinhua

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