The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, on Thursday, said the health body is procuring thousands of monkeypox tests for Africa as the number of cases continues to rise, reported Reuters.
Notably, Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. The virus is endemic in parts of Africa, but there has been an increase in the number of cases this year both on the continent and in the rest of the world.
According to Africa’s top public health agency, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), African countries have reported 1,597 suspected cases of the virus since the start of 2022, of which 66 have been fatal.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa said eight African countries now had confirmed cases, including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, and the Republic of Congo.
Ghana and Morocco, which have not previously recorded cases of the monkeypox virus, now have five and one confirmed case respectively, Moeti said. Countries with no previous cases including Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Uganda have reported suspected cases.
According to the WHO, Europe is the epicenter of the global monkeypox outbreak. Since May, 1,900 cases have been confirmed worldwide. Reported cases thus far have no established travel links to an endemic area.
Moeti said although the WHO is not recommending mass vaccination at this stage, it is working to ensure that the continent has fair access to vaccines should the need arise. There is no known vaccine for monkeypox currently, but the smallpox vaccine has been found to offer up to 85 percent protection against the virus.
The WHO has scheduled an emergency committee next week on Thursday to assess whether the monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.
