Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has said the death toll from the Mpox outbreak on the continent has reached 979, with 38,300 cases recorded .
This was revealed by the CDC director-general, Jean Kaseya, during a virtual press briefing on Thursday .
Since the beginning of 2024, Africa has recorded a total of 38,300 Mpox cases, including 7,339 confirmed cases. In the past week alone, the continent reported 3,186 new cases, with 489 confirmed and 53 deaths.
Kaseya highlighted that the outbreak continues to pose a serious public health threat across Africa, with 16 countries, spread across all five regions of the continent, reporting cases.
Central Africa remains the most severely affected region, accounting for more than 99 percent of all Mpox-related deaths this year. Six countries in this region have reported 33,735 suspected cases, 7,109 confirmed cases, and 975 deaths in 2024.
Kaseya emphasised that the outbreak shows no signs of abating, noting that “We are seeing a weekly average of 2,500 to 3,000 new cases. There has been no significant decrease in deaths, indicating that the outbreak is still active and growing. We need to maintain our focus to stop it.”
He also pointed out that Mpox cases this year have surged by 300 percent compared to 2023. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Uganda are the hardest-hit countries, accounting for 98.7 percent of all confirmed cases.
Kaseya stressed the importance of prioritising research and investigation, especially among vulnerable populations like children under 15.
In August, the Africa CDC declared the Mpox outbreak a public health emergency of continental security. Shortly afterward, the World Health Organisation (WHO) also classified Mpox as a public health emergency of international concern for the second time in two years, elevating its global alert level.
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