The African Union’s health agency announced on Thursday that approximately 1,100 people have died from mpox in Africa, cautioning that the outbreak is on the brink of becoming “uncontrollable” if decisive measures are not implemented.
Since January, a total of 42,000 cases have been reported across the continent, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), with newly identified cases emerging in Zambia and Zimbabwe. This brings the total number of African countries where mpox has been officially recorded this year to 18.
“Eighteen countries is too many; we cannot continue along this path. As highlighted this week, in week 40, we have reported a total of 1,100 deaths,” stated Jean Kaseya, head of Africa CDC, during an online press conference.
“Mpox will spiral out of control if we do not take action,” he warned, reiterating his appeal for international partners to promptly release the pledged funds to combat the outbreak.
Most of the fatalities occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicenter of the outbreak, which initiated a vaccination campaign earlier this month. However, Kaseya expressed concern that “new cases continue to arise week after week” across the continent.
“We now need to see concrete actions on the ground to bring this epidemic to an end,” he stated.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans but can also be transmitted between humans through prolonged physical contact, leading to symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, and skin lesions.
