Africa CDC says mpox ‘not under control’ on continent

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned Thursday about a worrying upward trend of mpox cases across the continent.

“We can say now mpox is not under control in Africa,” Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, said at an online news conference.

Compared to the same period last year, Kaseya said there has been a 177% and 38.5% increase in the number of mpox cases and deaths, respectively, across 15 African nations.

In the last week, 2,912 new cases were recorded and 14 deaths, he said, underlining the need to reinforce surveillance measures to contain the spread of the disease.

Africa has recorded more than 29,000 cases and 738 deaths this year, according to the latest data from Africa CDC.

Kaseya highlighted the challenge of insufficient testing and laboratory capacities.

He expressed hope that Africa will receive 10 million doses of a vaccine from partners to stop the spread.

“Let us talk of vaccination. We have a success story, we started (vaccination) in Rwanda, with 500 people vaccinated,” said Kaseya.

Rwanda received 1,000 doses of the vaccine from Nigeria under a bilateral agreement from an allotment of 10,000 it had received from the US, according to Africa CDC.

The vaccination was launched Tuesday, targeting seven districts that neighbor Congo with populations at high risk of getting mpox.

Congo, the most affected country in the region, will begin vaccination in the first week of October.

It has so far received 200,000 mpox vaccines from donors including the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority.

That is against 3 million doses it needs to end the outbreak, according to authorities.

Morocco was the latest country to report an outbreak of mpox on Sept.12.

Agencies

You might also like
Latest news
Autumn exhibition 2024atBanias palace of culture Palestinian resistance confronts Zionist occupation forces in several areas The farmers of Hasakah province finished harvesting the areas planted with cotton The Lebanese resistance targets the Israeli enemy forces in Maroun al-Ras and in the “Dovif” barrack... Health Ministry: About 98,000 medical services provided to Lebanese coming to Syria 4 Palestinians martyred and others detained in the West Bank Palestinian Ministry of Education: More than 11,900 students have been martyred since the beginning ... Martyrs, wounded due to the Israeli enemy raids on a number of areas and towns in Lebanon 29 martyrs due to the zionist bombing of homes and tents of displaced people in Gaza Strip Syria participates in China International Import Expo Czech Republic provides financial aid to Lebanon worth 3.5 million Korunas The annual exhibition of new and used clothes kicks off in Aleppo Syria participates in High-Level International Conference to enhance cooperation in combating terror... Abbas: International community is required to hold the occupation accountable for its crimes Syria calls on UN member states to take firm measures and stop Israeli attacks Israeli aggression targets civilian sites south of Damascus Russian Trade Representation in Syria holds a sports marathon to celebrate National Unity Day in Rus... Settlers burn Palestinian lands and homes east of Ramallah Lebanese resistance targets Meron base, settlements and gatherings of the Israeli enemy 43,374 martyrs since the beginning of the Israeli war of extermination on the Gaza Strip