Mpox spread slows slightly

The spread of mpox has slowed down slightly across Africa but the epidemic is not over, the African Union’s health watchdog said Thursday.

Fifteen countries across Africa recorded 11,453 mpox cases in the last four weeks, compared to 12,802 four weeks prior, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said during an online briefing.

But the head of the Africa CDC Jean Kaseya warned the epidemic was not over.

“We are still in the acute phase of the outbreak that is pushing us to double our effort to control mpox in Africa,” Kaseya said.

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“Unfortunately we are still losing a number of people,” he added.

Since the start of the year, authorities have recorded 50,840 mpox cases and 1,083 deaths across Africa.