2024-10-04 07:56:11
Eight hundred and sixty-six people have died from smallpox in Africa since the beginning of the year, according to the latest report dated Thursday 3 October from the Africa CDC health agency, which states that “The epidemic is not under control” on the continent. Some 34,297 cases have been recorded in Africa’s five regions since January, the African Union health agency said.
According to the Africa CDC, Mpox has been officially detected in sixteen African countries. “The epidemic is not under control”said Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa CDC, during a press briefing. Around 2,500 new cases have been recorded weekly in recent weeks, he added, also regretting that the pace of testing to confirm the presence of the disease remains unchanged. “too weak”.
Prime Minister of Ghana
Health authorities in Ghana said on the same day the country recorded its first confirmed case of smallpox in 2024. The patient, a young boy living about 475 kilometers from the capital Accra, showed symptoms of the virus, including rash, fever and pain, Ghana Health Service (GHS) director-general Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said in a statement.
While the child has been released from hospital and is in stable condition, authorities have identified and are monitoring twenty-five people who had contact with him. “The suspected case of mux has been isolated in accordance with mux management protocols”Kuma-Aboagye said.
Around 230 more suspected cases are under investigation in the West African country, GHS sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday. Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans but is also transmitted between humans, causing fever, muscle pain and skin lesions.
The resurgence of the disease on the continent and the appearance of a new variant (clade 1b) prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to trigger the highest global alert level in mid-August. According to the Africa CDC, Clade 1b has been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
The launch of the vaccination campaign in the DRC, the epicenter of the epidemic, initially scheduled for Wednesday, was delayed to a later date by the Congolese health authorities. It is expected to start in two days, Mr. Kaseya told reporters. Rwanda began vaccinating on September 17.
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