The African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), an independent continental health agency under the African Union, released its latest update on November 7, 2024, cautioning that although the Mpox virus’s spread rate shows a slight decline, the epidemic continues to advance across the continent.
The African continent is witnessing a modest slowdown in the Mpox outbreak, with the Africa CDC reporting the most recent figures. According to the autonomous health agency, 11,450 new cases were reported in the past four weeks, down from 12,800 in the preceding four-week period. Director General of the Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, warned that while this decline may signal a temporary lull, the virus remains in active spread. “When we held our initial briefing to alert the global community about Mpox in April, we reported 300 fatalities and cases in six countries. By August, fatalities had doubled to 600, with 23,000 cases across 13 nations. Now, we’re seeing over double those cases, with more than 1,083 deaths and 19 nations impacted.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) bears the brunt of the outbreak, accounting for 80% of all cases on the continent. Despite launching a vaccination campaign in the DRC a month ago, only around 51,000 people out of a population exceeding 100 million have received the vaccine.
This week, through an equitable distribution initiative aimed at ensuring fair and timely vaccine access, over 900,000 vaccine doses were allocated to the nine African countries most severely affected by the outbreak. This initial allocation is part of a larger distribution plan, with nearly six million doses expected to be available by year’s end.
Previously known as “monkeypox,” Mpox is a zoonotic disease that can infect both humans and animals. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and skin lesions.
News from RFI/ Afrique
