African countries reported 2,532 new cases of monkeypox (Mpox) last week, mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi, as the number of cases reported since the start of the year surpassed the mark of 50,000, warned the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
During an online press conference on Thursday evening, Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya said 19 African countries had reported 50,840 smallpox cases, including 10,741 confirmed and 1,083 deaths since the start of the year.
Over the previous week, the continent reported 2,532 new cases, including 345 confirmed cases and 32 new deaths.
The African continent is still in the acute phase of the Mpox epidemic. Data from the African Union’s specialized health agency shows that the number of confirmed cases of smallpox in Africa has increased by more than 545% this year compared to last year.
The Central Africa region is worst affected by the outbreak, accounting for 85.8% of all reported cases and 99.4% of deaths.
« We are still in the acute phase of the epidemic and this prompts us to redouble our efforts to control the smallpox epidemic in Africa stated Mr. Kaseya.
He said the DRC and Burundi, the two countries hardest hit by the outbreak, accounted for 86.7% of all new confirmed cases reported over the past week.
Amid the recent increase in the number of smallpox cases in Uganda, as the country continues to report a weekly increase in the number of confirmed cases, the Africa CDC official said that 14 African countries have active transmission of the smallpox smallpox virus.
He said four African countries, Cameroon, Gabon, Guinea and South Africa, have not reported any confirmed cases in the past six weeks.
He pointed out that even if some countries have not reported cases for several weeks in a row, they remain at risk due to cross-border transmission.
MG/as/lb/ac/APA
