The African Union’s health watchdog has declared a public health emergency over the growing mpox outbreak on the continent, saying the move is a clarion call for action.
Head of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Jean Kaseya, said there had been thirty-eight thousand, four hundred and sixty-five cases of mpox and one thousand, four hundred and fifty-six deaths in Africa since January 2022.
Kaseya said Mpox transmitted through close contact, cause rashes, flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, saying the disease can be dangerous for children, pregnant women and those with suppressed immune systems.
The outbreak has swept through several African countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, where the virus was first discovered in humans in 1970.
