The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed grave concern over the situation of Mpox in Africa amid high case counts observed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi and Uganda.
In its latest report on Tuesday, WHO described the epidemiological situation of Mpox in Africa as “especially concerning,” with the continent having recorded 13,769 confirmed cases of the disease across 20 countries – and 60 deaths – as of December 15.
The DRC continues to be the most affected country, with 9,513 confirmed cases, the UN agency said.
While the DRC has seen a relatively stable epidemic trend in recent weeks, WHO warned against complacence, given possible reporting delays.
The latest outbreak features the emergence and spread of a more dangerous but poorly understood variant, clade 1b, first detected in the DRC in September 2023.
Cases of the clade 1b strain have since been reported in several countries, including Sweden and Thailand.
“Geographical expansion of clade 1b mpox virus (MPXV) continues to be reported outside the DRC,” the WHO said, noting that eight countries outside of Africa have detected the strain.
Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, which has two distinct strains – clade 1b and clade 2b – and can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with an infected person, contaminated materials or infected animals.
“Much remains to be understood about the transmissibility and sustainability of transmission of the clade 1b MPXV,” WHO said.
MG/jn/APA