The increase in the number of MPOX cases in Burundi is “particularly worrying” among children under 5, who represent 30% of reported cases, an official from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
“Children in Burundi are the most affected by the epidemic, with alarming infection rates and serious health implications,” warned UNICEF’s health adviser for Eastern and Southern Africa, Paul Ngwakum.
Reached by videoconference from Bujumbura during a briefing in Geneva, Mr. Ngwakum specified that two thirds of the cases recorded in Burundi are people aged 19 or younger.
The resurgence of MPOX on the African continent with the appearance of a new variant prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to trigger its highest level of global alert in mid-August.
Monkeypox or mpox is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans but is also transmitted between humans during prolonged contact, causing fever, muscle pain and skin lesions.
A total of 25,093 suspected cases of MPOX and 723 deaths were reported across the continent between January and September 8, according to the WHO.
The DRC, the epicentre of the epidemic, alone recorded 21,835 of these cases and 717 of the deaths linked to MPOX, while neighbouring Burundi recorded 1,489 presumed cases and no deaths.
With MAP
){kind=link}