Home      Login

Abstract: 

Alarmed by the surge in mpox cases, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has taken the unprecedented step of declaring the outbreak sweeping through African countries a continental public health emergency. A day later, the World Health Organization declared that the outbreak constitutes a global health emergency. These moves come after a virulent strain of the disease spread rapidly to 16 countries and six new countries were affected in 10 days. There have been 15,132 mpox confirmed cases in Africa since the beginning of 2024. Some of the countries affected are Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Uganda and Kenya. Virologist Cheryl Walter sets out some of the reasons the mpox outbreaks are so worrying. This article is being made available at no charge, as part of our coverage of the emergent Mpox virus.

Keywords: Mpox Strains; How Mpox Spreads; Pandemic Prevention Measures

Affiliations:  1: University of Hull.