DHAKA, Sept 19 (Askume) – The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned on Thursday that the ampox epidemic in Africa remains uncontrolled and cases are still rising in many countries.
The World Health Organisation declared the latest outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after the discovery of a new variant of the disease .
Countries across the continent are grappling with another major outbreak in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed health systems that are weak and unprepared to handle a major public health crisis.
Data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention show that the number of MPOX cases in Africa increased by 177% compared to the same period last year, and the mortality rate rose by 38.5%.
Jean Cascia, WHO director-general at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a weekly briefing on the outbreak: “Today we can say that ampox is not yet under control in Africa. Cases are still increasing, which is worrying for all of us.
There were 2,912 new cases this week, up from 2,912 last week, with one new country, Morocco , reporting a case, confirming the disease has spread to all four regions of the continent.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said cases have so far been reported in 15 of the African Union’s 55 member countries.
“People are still dying from ampox in Africa. We lost 14 people in one week,” Kasia said.
He said the two variants are prevalent in some countries, such as Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but surveillance and testing systems are not robust enough to tell whether the situation is the same in other countries.
Rwanda has begun vaccination activities, while the Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicentre of the pandemic, plans to begin vaccinations in early October , Kasia said.
