DAKAR, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The number of mpox cases will continue to rise during the next four weeks before starting to show signs of flattening early next year, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, and typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild, but it can be lethal.
The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency in August, after a new mpox strain began spreading from the badly-hit Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries.
"I think with this intensification of the response, we are hoping that after about four weeks... we should see some plateauing of the outbreak as a result of all the current investment, and then towards the end of quarter one, we can then see the bending of the curve," Ngashi Ngongo of Africa CDC told a press briefing.
He said outbreak surveillance including contact tracing remained a significant challenge for the response, but that Africa CDC was trying to strengthen it by deploying community health workers, epidemiologists and infection prevention specialists in areas with confirmed cases of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox.
A lack of surveillance is also a major concern for WHO's advisory group, which said last week it was too early to lift its public health emergency status, according to Ngongo.
The outbreak continues to represent an emergency based on the rising number and continuing geographic spread of cases, operational challenges in the field, and the need to mount and sustain a cohesive response across countries and partners, the WHO said on Friday.
Twenty African countries have seen more than 59,000 reported mpox cases including 1,164 deaths so far this year, according to Africa CDC data.
Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan vowed on Monday to move on from deadly protests set off by last week's disputed election as she was sworn int...
Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying...
At least 37 people have died and five are missing after devastating floods and landslides hit central Vietnam, officials said Monday, as a new typhoon...
Countries are still working on a UN Security Council mandate for an international stabilisation force in Gaza, and will decide on any troop deployment...
Bella Culley, a pregnant British teenager jailed in Georgia for smuggling marijuana and hashish from Thailand, was freed on Monday (November 3) under ...
Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan vowed on Monday to move on from deadly protests set off by last week's disputed election as she was sworn into office for her first elected term.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for 2 November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Cameroon's incumbent President Paul Biya, 92 has been announced as the winner of the country's Presidential election amidst allegations of election irregularities.
The UN has appealed for the safe evacuation of civilians trapped in Sudan’s el-Fasher, as paramilitary forces claim to have captured the army’s main base in the city.
Ukraine’s top military commander has confirmed that troops are facing “difficult conditions” defending the strategic eastern town of Pokrovsk against a multi-thousand Russian force.
Russia has launched its new nuclear-powered submarine, the Khabarovsk, at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, the Defence Ministry said Saturday.
A man and a woman were killed and several others injured in a shooting on the Greek island of Crete on Saturday, in what police officials described as a family vendetta, reviving memories of the island’s long and complex history of inter-family violence.
Two men accused of stealing €88 million worth of jewels from Paris’ Louvre Museum have been charged and remanded in custody, as investigators continue to search for the missing treasures.
Egypt has inaugurated the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Great Pyramid of Giza, unveiling the world’s largest archaeological museum and a modern cultural landmark celebrating over 7,000 years of history.
A prostate cancer blood test has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from the disease by 13% over two decades, researchers say.
Serious cases of a disorder of the large intestine are surging among Americans younger than 50, researchers say.
Russian President Vladimir Putin asked North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui during talks in the Kremlin on Monday to tell her country's leader Kim Jong Un that everything was "going to plan" in bilateral relations.
U.S. border czar says fentanyl should be considered a WMD.
U.S. states this week warned food aid recipients that their benefits may not be distributed in November if the federal government shutdown stretches into its fourth week.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment