UN raises alarm over rising monkeypox cases in Africa
(VOVWORLD) - The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Tuesday that around 367 cases of monkeypox (mpox), including three deaths, have been confirmed in five countries across Eastern and Southern Africa.
 Image of monkeypox virus under electron microscope (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The number of cases is expected to rise further. As of September 2, Burundi had reported 328 cases, South Africa 24 cases, Uganda 7 cases, and Rwanda and Kenya each recorded 4 cases.
Burundi is currently the second most affected country in Africa after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the outbreak originated. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of August 27, there have been nearly 23,000 suspected cases, more than 5,200 confirmed cases, and 622 deaths linked to different strains of the monkeypox virus across Africa.
On August 14, the WHO declared monkeypox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) due to a spike in cases of the more contagious and potentially fatal variant 1b in the DRC, which has since spread beyond its borders. The PHEIC is the WHO's highest alert level for an outbreak.