Mpox deaths surge past 1,000 as cases spread to 18 African countries

KIGALI, Rwanda

Africa registered 50 new deaths from mpox in the past week, bringing the toll to 1,100 since the beginning of the year, the latest data by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) showed Thursday.

Addressing a press briefing, the director general of Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, said this year 42,438 mpox cases have been recorded in 18 African countries.

Some 3051 new cases were recorded in the past week, with new outbreaks reported in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The Central African region accounts for 86.4% of all the cases reported, according to the data.

There has been a 380% increase in mpox cases this year compared to last year, Kaseya said.

Mpox is a viral disease, formerly called monkeypox before the WHO changed its name in 2022 over complaints that it was racist and stigmatizing.

The zoonotic disease can be transmitted to humans through close physical contact with an infectious person or small wild animal, or via contaminated materials.

Common symptoms include rashes or lesions, as well as a flu-like fever, head and muscle aches, back pain, general weakness, and swollen lymph nodes.