The number of African countries affected by mpox has reached 20 as more than 59,000 cases of the disease have been reported so far in the continent this year, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has disclosed.
“African continent had reported 59,220 mpox cases since the start of this year, of which 12,938 confirmed, and over 1,164 deaths, with a case fatality rate of about 2 percent from all cases notified,” Ngashi Ngongo, chief of staff and head of the executive office at Africa CDC, said during an online media briefing Thursday evening.
Ngongo said Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda accounted for the vast majority of newly confirmed cases.
Angola became the latest African country to report an mpox outbreak, reporting its first confirmed mpox case on Nov. 16. This brings the total number of affected countries to 20.
Data from the African Union’s specialized healthcare agency show that during last week alone, the African continent reported 2,680 new cases, including 492 confirmed ones, and 22 new deaths.
According to the Africa CDC, the number of confirmed mpox cases in Africa surged by over 600 percent this year compared to the total of last year.
“The outbreak remains predominantly in the Central Africa region, where it accounts for 93.2 percent of all confirmed cases and 99.5 percent of all deaths reported,” Ngongo said.
In mid-August, the Africa CDC declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of continental security. Soon after, the World Health Organization also declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern.
MG/as/APA