According to data released on Saturday by the African Union Health Authority (CDC), 1,200 new suspected or confirmed infections with three different Mpox subspecies were detected in the past week alone, including the worrying strain 1b.
According to the report, a total of 18,737 cases have been registered on the continent since the beginning of the year – significantly more than the 14,383 cases in the whole of 2023. According to the CDC, the latest surveys reported Mpox cases in a total of twelve member states of the African Union (AU), with 541 people dying so far.
‘,’pinpoll-278592’, null, null, ‘C0004’);
});
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the highest alert level on Wednesday due to the spread of the new Mpox variant 1b in several African countries. The disease, known for decades as monkeypox, can be transmitted from animals, but also from person to person through close contact, for example during sex. Symptoms include pox-like pustules on the skin, fever and aching limbs.
Experts are particularly concerned about strain 1b of the virus, which is circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and some other African countries. According to the CDC, 24 people died in the DRC alone last week as a result of a 1b infection.
On Thursday, Sweden was the first country in Europe to report a case of infection with the virus variant 1b. The infected person is a traveler returning from the part of Africa affected by the Mpox outbreak.
