Mpox spreading rapidly in Africa as cases rise in DR Congo, Burundi

Mpox is spreading rapidly in Africa, with 5,466 new suspected cases and 252 confirmed cases reported over the past seven days, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CDC Director General Jean Kaseya said during his weekly briefing in Kinshasa that 26 people died in connection with mpox over the week.

Cases are soaring, with less than 1,400 suspected cases being reported as recently as mid-August.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the centre of the outbreak, accounting for 91% of confirmed cases and nearly all deaths.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 25,000 suspected cases in Africa, with 5,549 confirmed.

The relatively low number of confirmed cases is primarily due to limited laboratory and diagnostic capacities. Since the beginning of the year, 643 mpox-related deaths have been reported on the continent.

Children up to the age of 15 are particularly affected in the countries with the most cases, primarily Congo and neighbouring Burundi. In Congo, they account for 58% of those infected, while in Burundi they make up 54.3%, Kaseya said.

On Thursday, the first shipment of nearly 100,000 doses of vaccine arrived in Kinshasa, with a similar amount expected to be delivered over the weekend. According to plans of the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO), health care workers are to be vaccinated first.

Prostitutes and internally displaced persons, who are particularly vulnerable to contagious diseases due to poor and cramped living conditions in refugee camps, are also to receive priority vaccinations.

The WHO declared the highest alert level in mid-August due to mpox outbreaks in Africa and the new, possibly more dangerous Ib variant.