18,737 mpox cases recorded in Africa since start of year

Amman: Some 18,737 probable or confirmed cases of monkeypox were recorded in African since the start of the year, including 1,200 in one week, according to the African Union Health Agency. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said many virus mutations have been monitored, 3,101 confirmed and 15,636 probable cases detected, and 541 deaths reported in 12 countries of the continent. A larger number of cases of mpox, a virus similar to smallpox, has been recorded since the beginning of 2024 than the entire year 2023 (14,838), with 16,800 probable or confirmed cases recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicenter of the epidemic, it said. Yesterday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) raised its risk level assessment for mpox from low to moderate due to infections in the bloc at different intervals, and asked countries to maintain the highest levels of awareness among travelers visiting from areas where the disease appeared. Sweden also announced the r egistration of its first infection with a new strain of monkeypox virus, the first outside Africa. European Medicines Agency (EMA) director Emer Cooke said Europe will see more imported infections with the new strain of mpox in the coming weeks, but the risk of continued transmission of the disease remains low. Source: Jordan News Agency