More than 800 individuals have died from mpox across Africa, according to the African Union’s disease control centre.
The agency issued a warning on Thursday, stating that the epidemic “was not under control.”
Since January, the continent has recorded approximately 34,297 mpox cases, including 38 cases in Ghana.
This marks a troubling trend as mpox has been officially detected in 16 African countries this year.
Jean Kaseya, the head of Africa CDC, reported that 866 deaths have occurred since the beginning of the year.
He emphasized that the current testing rate for mpox remains “too low,” highlighting that around 2,500 new cases have been identified in just the past week.
In response to the escalating crisis, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) plans to begin vaccinations in two days.
Initial vaccination efforts were scheduled to start on October 2.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral infection transmitted to humans from infected animals.
It can also spread between humans through close physical contact and often results in severe symptoms such as fever and skin lesions.
