Cape Town: More than a thousand new cases of monkeypox have been reported in the African country of Congo in the last one year. At the same time, African health officials have demanded the necessary vaccines to help fight its “growing” threat on the continent. The World Health Organization has already declared the outbreak in Africa a global emergency. The monkeypox virus belongs to the same family as smallpox, but it causes mild symptoms such as fever, chills and body aches. It is mostly spread by close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual intercourse. People with more severe cases may have boils on the face, hands, chest and genitals.
How many people have died
Out of 54 countries in Africa, monkeypox cases have been confirmed in 12 countries, while Congo has recorded the highest number of cases so far this year. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) reported that 94 percent or 17,794 of the total 18,910 cases in 2024 were reported in Congo alone. According to the center, 541 people have died from the disease this year, of which 535 deaths have occurred in Congo alone. The figures are probably underestimated, as only one in five suspected cases in Congo is being investigated for ‘monkeypox’.
African countries have limited capacities
Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, said that testing and surveillance capabilities are limited in many affected African countries. According to data provided by Africa CDC late on Tuesday night, out of 1,405 new cases in Africa in the last seven days, 1,030 cases were recorded in Congo. The World Health Organization declared it a global health emergency last week in view of the increasing cases of ‘monkeypox’ in Africa and the identification of a new type of virus capable of spreading more easily in Congo.
3 million doses of vaccine are needed
The Director General of Africa CDC said that his organization has been promised 215,000 doses of anti-monkeypox vaccine from the European Union and vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic. The US aid agency said it has donated 50,000 doses of the vaccine to Congo. Japan has also donated some doses of the vaccine to Congo. But Africa probably needs much more than this. Congo’s health minister said that his country alone needs 3 million doses of the vaccine to deal with this outbreak, which has spread to at least four neighboring African countries.
