Since the beginning of the year, Africa has reported a total of 18,737 suspected or confirmed mpox cases, including 1,200 cases in a single week, as announced by the African Union’s health agency on Saturday. This surge includes three virus strains, with the newly identified Clade 1b—more lethal and transmissible—prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare an international health emergency, the highest level of alert.
So far, 3,101 confirmed and 15,636 suspected cases have been reported across 12 African Union member states, resulting in 541 deaths, representing a fatality rate of 2.89%, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where Clade 1b was first detected in September 2023, remains the hardest hit, with 1,005 cases (222 confirmed, 783 suspected) and 24 deaths reported in just one week. All 26 provinces in the DRC, which has a population of approximately 100 million, have reported cases.
In neighboring Burundi, cases have surged by 75% in one week, with 173 reported cases—39 confirmed and 134 suspected. The number of cases reported in 2024 has already surpassed the total for 2023, which saw 14,383 cases, according to the Africa CDC.
The first cases of mpox outside of Africa were recorded this week in Sweden and Pakistan. In response, the WHO is preparing to publish its first recommendations from its emergency committee and, along with NGOs, is advocating for increased vaccine production.
Mpox is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans, and also between humans through sexual or close physical contact. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and large boil-like skin lesions. The Clade 1b variant causes widespread skin eruptions, unlike previous variants, which resulted in localized lesions around the mouth, face, or genitals.
The disease, formerly known as monkeypox, was first identified in humans in the DRC in 1970. The more dangerous Clade 1 has been endemic to the Congo Basin in Central Africa for decades.
