In the world of public health in Africa, fighting disease outbreaks remains a constant priority. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has just revealed that Mpox remains a major public health problem in the region.
Over the past week, the center has recorded 489 new cases of Mpox, sadly resulting in 53 deaths. During his recent weekly briefing on disease outbreaks on the continent, Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, emphasized the gravity of the situation.
Despite efforts to stem the spread of Mpox, the number of cases continues to rise. With a total of 3,186 new cases reported in the past week, it is imperative to accelerate interventions, particularly vaccination, to contain the disease.
Dr. Kaseya highlighted the vaccination campaign launched in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the most affected country, where more than 1,600 people have already been vaccinated, mainly in the eastern region. He also mentioned Nigeria, which is about to start vaccination after receiving 10,000 doses of Mpox vaccine from the United States.
To address this crisis, Africa expects to receive 10 million doses of vaccine from its international partners. It is worth noting that in 2024, more than 38,300 cases have already been recorded in 16 African countries, causing 979 deaths. Ghana and Zambia are among the latest countries to report an outbreak of Mpox.
Mpox usually manifests itself with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. This disease represents a major public health challenge and requires a rapid and coordinated response to prevent its spread.
On the Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda, Dr Kaseya stressed that the risk of exporting the disease was extremely low. Despite the 58 confirmed cases of Marburg and 13 deaths recorded in Rwanda, the case fatality rate remains relatively low at 22%.
He commended the preventive measures put in place by Rwanda, such as coordination between the police, health facilities and transport services to trace contacts and provide rapid medical intervention.
However, Dr Kaseya criticised the recent US travel warning to Rwanda due to the Marburg outbreak as “unfair and unacceptable”. He defended Rwanda’s response to the outbreak, highlighting the deployment of vaccines, treatments and testing to control the spread of the virus.
In concluding, he stressed the importance of community engagement in combating outbreaks, saying that collaboration and rapid action are essential to contain such outbreaks and protect public health in Africa.
In a context where the management of health crises is becoming a global priority, it is imperative that authorities and organizations work together to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and protect the population against emerging threats.