More and more cases of MPOX infection in Africa. The US has issued a warning

MPOX (formerly smallpox monkey) quickly spreads in West Africa – in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, but also in Central and Eastern Africa, from where it was already transferred to the United States.

The American Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an official warning in connection with the growing MPOX epidemic in African countries and the fact that several cases of MPOX related to travel to Africa, primarily to the Democratic Republic of Congo, have been diagnosed in the United States since 2024.

Although from May there is no evidence of a lasting local broadcast in USAit was CDC that called healthcare professionals to maintain vigilance, especially during the examination of patients who recently traveled to DRK or neighboring countries.

MPOX in Liberia

However, there are numerous infections and broadcasts in Africa. The National Institute of Public Health of Liberia (NPHIL) announced on Friday about 767 suspicious cases of MPOX. The number of confirmed cases has also increased to 75. And only a week earlier there were only 25 of them. Fortunately, no death caused by this virus was confirmed. Dougbeh Chris Nyan, director of Nphil, said that there is no reason to panic at the moment, although he realizes that its signs can be seen in society.

MPOX probably gets from the neighboring Sierra Leone to Liberia, where 1555 active cases and 16 deaths were recorded. This is three quarters of new, confirmed cases in Africa.

In the past week, the virus also appeared in Ethiopia, which reported on Friday three cases located near the border with Kenya.

No vaccines

The epidemic that is currently a continent includes clad and virus, a variant associated with a more severe disease and a higher mortality rate than Klad II, which was responsible for the global epidemic in 2022–2023.

A problem in Africa is also the lack of vaccines against this virus. The continent needs at least 6.4 million and only for the next few months to deal with the epidemic. And African CDC currently has only 219 thousand. doses transferred by the US government. In addition, vaccines are expensive, one costs $ 65, which is why most African countries are passed on to help donors.

The monkey's monkey is not the only epidemic that Africa is currently struggling with. At least in 20 countries, cholera bonfires were diagnosed, which affected about 127,409 people. In the next 17, the Odra epidemic broke out, in seven – dengi, and in four a Lassa fever virus appeared.