WHO: Over 35,000 suspected cases of mpox detected in Africa so far in 2024

More than 35,000 suspected cases of mpox (monkeypox) and nearly a thousand deaths that could be caused by the disease were detected in Africa from January 1 to September 29, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, Report informs via TASS.

A total of 35,525 suspected cases of mpox, including 996 deaths, have been reported in Africa since the beginning of the year, the WHO said in a fact sheet. In the week of September 23-29, the number of infections rose by 4,098 and the number of deaths by 156.

Since the beginning of the year, doctors in the Democratic Republic of Congo have identified a particularly high number of monkeypox incidence: 30,766 cases and 990 deaths. Burundi comes in second, with 1,368 suspected cases since the beginning of the year. No deaths have been reported in the country.

The global health emergency over mpox was originally in effect from July 2022 to May 11, 2023. It was lifted due to a decline in the incidence of the disease, but on August 14, 2024, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus again declared a state of emergency due to the outbreak of the disease in Africa.

Mpox is a viral disease that occurs primarily in remote areas of central and western Africa near tropical forests. The first case of animal-to-human transmission of the disease was recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.