Guinea has confirmed its first case of mpox, the health ministry announced on Wednesday, without providing further details. The minister of health convened an emergency meeting with the ministry’s partners on Tuesday to address the detection of the first mpox case in the country.
During the meeting, the National Health Security Agency presented a preparedness and response plan, along with a budget. A health ministry official, speaking anonymously, confirmed that the first case was discovered in the sub-prefecture of Koyama, near the Liberian border.
The resurgence of mpox and the detection of a new strain, Clade 1b, in the Democratic Republic of Congo prompted the World Health Organization to declare its highest international alert level on August 14. The region is experiencing a surge in cases, with outbreaks reported in the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Mpox has also been detected in Asia and Europe. The African Union’s health watchdog announced that the first delivery of nearly 100,000 doses of mpox vaccines will arrive in the DRC on Thursday. According to the WHO, more than 17,500 cases and 629 deaths have been reported in the DRC since the start of the year.
Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also spread through close physical contact between humans. The disease causes fever, muscular aches, and large boil-like skin lesions.
