KAMPALA, Uganda — The head of Africa’s leading public health organization announced on Thursday that mpox-related fatalities on the continent have exceeded 1,000. He raised concerns about the persistent risk of cross-border transmission and the insufficient availability of rapid test kits.
The latest report indicates that there have been 50 deaths attributed to mpox in the past week alone, pushing the total to 1,100. According to Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this data highlights the difficulties authorities encounter in controlling outbreaks that are currently affecting 18 out of Africa’s 55 nations.
“We are still battling with this outbreak,” Kaseya remarked. “We want to prevent all African nations from being impacted.” Mpox, part of the same virus family as smallpox, tends to manifest milder symptoms, which can include fever, chills, and body aches. In more severe cases, patients may develop lesions on various body parts, including the face, hands, chest, and genital areas.
Kaseya also warned that the current trajectory indicates that the mpox situation in Africa could spiral out of control if decisive action is not taken swiftly. He appealed to international allies to fulfill their commitments of assistance in combating this crisis. “This is my clear message to our partners. We acknowledge their pledges, but we urgently need to convert these pledges into tangible financial support to aid the response,” he stated.
The estimated budget for a six-month initiative proposed by the Africa CDC along with the World Health Organization amounts to nearly $600 million. Out of this figure, 55% is designated for addressing the mpox crisis in 14 affected countries and enhancing preparedness in 15 additional nations.
Recently, Zambia and Zimbabwe confirmed new cases of mpox, while Kenya reported its first mpox-related death. Additionally, a case was identified within a prison in central Uganda, and the mpox case in Zambia was linked to a truck driver.
Mpox, or monkeypox, had largely gone unnoticed for many years in Africa before a global surge in 2022 prompted swift responses from wealthier nations, which supplied vaccines from their reserves. In contrast, African nations found themselves with limited access to these vaccines despite various appeals.
In August, the World Health Organization classified the outbreaks in Africa as a global health emergency, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo identified as the center of the crisis. As of now, the total number of suspected cases since the start of the year stands at 42,438, with 8,113 confirmed cases of mpox, as reported by the Africa CDC. Vaccination campaigns for mpox have commenced in Rwanda and Congo.