Kampala, Jan 12, 2025, IANS

Kampala, Jan 12 (IANS) About 14,700 confirmed mpox cases, including 66 deaths, were reported in 20 African countries from January 2024 to January 5, 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. The confirmed cases represent only a subset of suspected cases, the WHO said on Saturday. It previously said that a significant number of suspected mpox cases remain untested and "thus never get confirmed" in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) due to limited diagnostic capacity, reports Xinhua news agency. The ongoing outbreak is being driven by multiple clades of the virus, including the Clade Ib variant, which is predominantly spreading in the DRC and neighbouring countries, the WHO said in its latest report. Imported travel-related cases caused by the Clade Ib variant and secondary transmission from these cases have also been detected outside Africa. The WHO reported that these imported cases were primarily among adults who travelled during their incubation periods or with early symptoms, with diagnoses made upon their arrival in other countries. The new variant, first detected in South Kivu, an eastern province of the DRC, is estimated to have emerged around mid-September 2023, according to a previous WHO report. The travel-related mpox cases highlight the challenges posed by varying surveillance capabilities and reporting practices across countries. Limited resources and restricted access to diagnostic testing can result in underreporting or delays in detection, the WHO warned. It urged member states to sustain and strengthen mpox surveillance to improve case detection and reporting. In mid-August 2024, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of continental security. Shortly afterwards, the WHO also declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, activating its highest level of global alert for the disease for the second time in two years. Mpox, also known as monkeypox, was first identified in laboratory monkeys in 1958. It is a rare viral disease that typically spreads through body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials. The infection usually causes fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes.