Africa: nearly 3,000 cases of Mpox in six weeks

According to the latest reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 2,744 cases and 16 deaths of mpox strain Ib were recorded between 20 January and 2 March 2025. Uganda has surpassed the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as having the highest number of cases, reporting 40% of new cases. However, concerns have been raised that the observed decline in infections in the DRC may not be indicative of a genuine decrease, but rather be a consequence of challenges in effectively tracing cases in the context of ongoing armed conflict in the eastern part of the country. On a global scale, the number of countries with confirmed cases of mpox strain Ib infection has risen to 17. This increase was driven by the recent diagnosis in Brazil, where the Ministry of Health confirmed the infection of a 29-year-old woman who had contact with a relative from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.