Gabon has confirmed its first case of mpox, the country’s health ministry announced in a statement on Thursday. The ministry did not specify which variant of the virus had been detected.
The World Health Organization (WHO) previously declared mpox a global public health emergency following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This outbreak spread to neighboring countries and raised concerns due to the emergence of a more transmissible variant, clade Ib.
According to the Gabonese health ministry, the confirmed case involves a 30-year-old man who tested positive for mpox after returning from Uganda. He exhibited symptoms including a fever and skin lesions, both characteristic of the viral infection.
