World Health Organisation considers emergency status for Africa’s Mpox outbreak

The World Health Organisation is considering convening an expert committee to determine if the escalating Mpox outbreak in Africa should be declared an international emergency. WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus announced this consideration following a surge of cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and nearby countries. South Africa has also confirmed two more cases in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, bringing its total to 24 cases and three deaths.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has released a report on the mpox outbreak across the continent. Since the beginning of 2022 until 28 July 2024, a total of 37,583 cases and 1,451 deaths (case fatality rate 3.9%) have been reported from 15 African Union Member States, including Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, and South Africa. In 2023 alone, 14,957 cases and 739 deaths were reported from seven AU member state countries, marking a 78.5% increase in new cases compared to 2022.

Furthermore, as of 28 July 2024, a total of 14,250 cases (2,745 confirmed; 11,505 suspected) and 456 deaths have been reported from 10 AU countries. This represents a 160% and 19% increase in the number of cases and deaths respectively compared to the same period in 2023. The DRC accounts for 96.3% of all cases and 97% of all deaths reported this year.

Bloomberg Africa separately reports that central African countries are currently racing to contain a multinational outbreak of a mutated mpox strain that has killed almost 500 people in the DRC alone since January. Recent cases in Ivory Coast, Kenya, and at least three other African countries have raised concerns about explosive contagion carried along newly built roads and highways connecting remote mining sites to cities and camps.