More than 17,000 cases of mpox infection and 517 deaths related to the disease have been reported in 13 of the 55 African Union countries since the beginning of this year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
“Since the start of 2024, a total of 17,541 cases and 517 deaths due to mpox have been reported across 13 AU Member States,” Ramaphosa said in a statement released by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Saturday.
Suspected cases of mpox were reported in three more African Union countries this week, potentially bringing the total number of countries in the organization with reported cases to 16. “Alarmingly, the number of reported cases in 2024 has surged by 160 percent compared to the same period in 2023.” On Thursday, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Health Minister Roger Kamba said that more than 540 people have died from mpox in the DRC since the beginning of 2024.
On Wednesday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern. (Sputnik)
