Africa has recorded over 50,000 cases of mpox since January 2024, marking a 545% surge from last year, according to the latest data from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The confirmed case count now stands at 50,840, with a weekly increase of 2,532 cases, primarily concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi, which account for 86.7% of recent cases.
Morbidity rates are also climbing in Uganda, although no new cases have been reported in Gabon, Guinea, Cameroon, or South Africa over the past six weeks. During the past week, pox-related deaths reached 32.
The outbreak's epicenter remains Central Africa, which accounts for 85.8% of the cases and nearly all fatalities at 99.4%.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral disease endemic to remote areas of Central and Western Africa. It is transmitted primarily from animals like rodents and primates to humans, with limited human-to-human transmission.
The first recorded transmission to humans was documented in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.
Mpox symptoms typically include a skin rash, mucosal lesions lasting two to four weeks, fever, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes.
Fatality rates for outbreaks vary between 1% and 10%, with younger age groups disproportionately affected.
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