Nairobi, Oct. 18, (dpa/GNA) – The African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Friday that 1,100 people have died from mpox since the beginning of the year.
CDC director Jean Kaseya said that more than 42,000 suspected cases of the disease have been reported so far this year, 8,100 of which have been confirmed.
The low proportion of confirmed cases is partially due to limited laboratory capacity in the affected countries.
Kaseya said the CDC still does not consider the spread of mpox to be under control, as cases rise despite the efforts of health authorities.
Although the outbreak remains concentrated in Central Africa, particularly in Congo, the disease is now present in 18 member states of the African Union.
Kaseya said that Nigeria is set to become the third country to start a vaccination campaign against mpox at the beginning of next week, following Rwanda and Congo.
One of the focuses of the vaccine campaign is on eastern Congo, where health authorities are particularly concerned about the conflict-ravaged region of North Kivu.
The province has 13 refugee camps housing 2.5 million people who live in cramped and often unhygienic conditions, where infectious diseases can spread quickly.
According to the CDC, almost 21,000 people in three Congolese provinces have been vaccinated so far, mainly healthcare workers and sex workers.
In mid-August, the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, its highest level of alert, due to the mpox outbreak in Africa and the new, possibly more dangerous variant Ib.
GNA