Central African Republic and Kenya confirm outbreaks of mpox

Kenya and the Central African Republic have declared new outbreaks of mpox as African health officials scramble to stem the spread of the disease in a region lacking vaccines.

Nairobi announced a new outbreak on Wednesday, after a case was detected in a passenger traveling from Uganda to Rwanda at a border post in southern Kenya. The Central African Republic was the first to declare a new outbreak on Monday, saying it was spreading to its capital, Bangui.

"We are very concerned about the cases of smallpox that are ravaging Region 7 of the country," Pierre Somsé, Minister of Public Health of the Central African Republic, said on Monday.

Mpox is a viral infection which can spread between people and occasionally from the environment to people via things and surfaces that have been touched by an infected person.

In settings where the virus is present among some wild animals, it can also be transmitted from infected animals to people who have contact with them.

Mpox became a global concern during an global outbreak in 2022 that saw the disease spread to more than 100 countries. It has been endemic in parts of central and west Africa for decades.

The World Health Organization said in November that it had confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in the DRC for the first time. African scientists have warned that this could make the disease difficult to contain.

While mpox outbreaks in the West have been contained with vaccines and treatments, they are virtually non-existent in parts of Africa, where several countries have reported outbreaks in recent months.

The worst-hit country on the continent is Congo, which has recorded more than 12,000 cases and at least 470 deaths this year in its largest outbreak.

South Africa , which last recorded a case of mpox in 2022, has also reported an outbreak this year.

In the Central African Republic, where infection is more common in remote areas, authorities have called on the public to support government efforts to slow the spread of the disease.

The East African Community regional bloc also issued a statement alerting member states about the disease in Congo, which borders five countries in the region. One of them, Burundi , has already confirmed three cases.

Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, the Community's deputy secretary-general, urged the group's partner states on Monday to "provide necessary information on the disease and take preventive measures. "