Written By |
Scaling up response to curb growing mpox outbreak in African region (Photo: WHO)
Search
MONROVIA — Africa is grappling with a rise in Mpox cases, with hundreds of new infections reported in the past week, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). More than 20 countries in the region have confirmed cases since January, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remaining the hardest hit.
The latest data from the Africa CDC indicates over 13,000 confirmed cases of Mpox across the continent, with 1,200 deaths. Alarmingly, children under the age of 15 account for nearly 35% of all cases. In response, Africa CDC has intensified surveillance and testing in the DRC to curb the disease's spread.
Mpox has affected all regions of Africa, with varying severity depending on the clade involved. Clade 1, for instance, disproportionately impacts children. In the DRC, approximately 87.6% of individuals affected by Clade 1a are children, while Clade 1b affects both children and adults.
"We are still losing people," said Jean Kaseya, Africa CDC Director, as he highlighted the challenges of testing and decentralization in affected regions.
New deaths have risen to 36 this week, a sharp increase from the 22 deaths reported the previous week. However, Kaseya noted a marginal decrease in the percentage of deaths over the past six weeks in the DRC, signaling slight progress in mitigating the disease's impact.
He also pointed out that Mpox and measles are exhibiting similar trends in two DRC provinces, adding that enhanced surveillance for Mpox is inadvertently improving measles detection in these regions.
Meanwhile, Congolese health authorities are facing another public health crisis as they struggle to identify an unknown illness with flu-like symptoms. The disease has claimed more than 70 lives and infected over 300 people in the south-western province of Kwango. Investigations are underway to identify and contain the mysterious illness.
Agencies
