The number of mpox cases will continue to rise over the next four weeks before starting to show signs of stabilizing early next year, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, has symptoms similar to those of the flu, and also causes lesions with pus. The disease is generally moderate in severity, but can be lethal.
The MOS (World Health Organization) declared a global health emergency in August, after a new strain of mpox began to spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring countries.
Continues after advertising
“I think with this intensification of the response, we expect that after about four weeks… we should see a stabilization of the outbreak as a result of the current investment, and then, closer to the end of the first quarter, we might then see a drop in the curve. ”, said Ngashi Ngongo, from the African CD.
According to him, monitoring the epidemic — including contact tracing — remains a major challenge, but the CD is trying to strengthen its actions using community health workers, epidemiologists and infection prevention specialists in regions with confirmed cases of mpox, previously known like monkeypox.
The outbreak continues to represent an emergency, given the growing number and continued spread of cases, in addition to operational challenges in the field and the need to mount and sustain a cohesive response among countries and partners, MOS said last Friday. Twenty African countries have reported more than 59,000 cases of mpox, including 1,164 deaths so far in 2024, according to CD data.
Check out XP offers to save even more when purchasing with the XP Visa Infinite card; up to 20% Investback on big brands for all customers.
