The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has expressed concern over the increasing cases of mpox in Africa.
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, in an update on the multi-country mpox outbreak in Africa issued on Friday, stated that the continent has faced limited diagnostic capabilities and other challenges related to the rapid spread of the disease to new countries and disparate attempts to address mpox amid the greater need to improve coordinated efforts.
Data from the Africa CDC show that from the beginning of 2024 to Aug. 23, a total of 21,466 potential cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, and 591 deaths have been reported from 13 African Union (AU) members.
The 13 AU members that have reported mpox cases so far include Burundi, Cameroon, the Central Africa Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gabon, Liberia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
“The cases and deaths seen are just the tip of the iceberg, given that mpox is mostly a mild condition and due to limited surveillance, testing, contact tracing, and reporting,” Kaseya said in an update letter to African health ministers concerning the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa.
He further warned of the high case fatality rate of mpox, which he said, was mostly between 3 and 4 per cent, adding that the disease’s link to HIV is also of particular concern for Africa.
MG/GIK/APA