Ethiopia has seen increasing mpox infections amid intensified health monitoring and inspection measures to contain the epidemic.
The Ministry Health of Ethiopia Friday revealed that the number of mpox cases in the country has now reached 18, with 12 new cases reported during the past two days.
The East African country has also recorded one mpox-related death and two recoveries so far, while 15 active cases are currently receiving medical treatment in isolation, according to the ministry.
Ethiopia reported its first mpox case on May 25 when a 21-day-old infant tested positive in Moyale near the Kenyan border.
Following the initial announcement of mpox cases in southern Ethiopia, the country has intensified coordinated health monitoring and inspection measures to prevent a potential outbreak.
Meanwhile, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has recently called for aggressive efforts to control mpox in southern Ethiopia to avert possible cross-border spread of the virus, mainly due to Moyale town’s close proximity to neighboring Somalia.
The African continent has reported 141,966 mpox cases since the start of last year. Of these, 35,752 were confirmed and about 1,793 related deaths were recorded, according to the latest data from the Africa CDC.
MG/abj/APA