ABUJA, Nigeria – Kenya and the Central African Republic have declared new mpox outbreaks as African health authorities race to contain the spread of the disease in a vaccine-starved region.
Nairobi announced the outbreak on Wednesday, after a case was detected in a passenger traveling from Uganda to Rwanda at a border crossing in southern Kenya. The Central African Republic was the first to declare a new outbreak on Monday, saying it extends to its capital, Bangui.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypoxIt is caused by a virus that originates in wild animals and occasionally reaches people, who can transmit it to others.
“We are very concerned about the cases of monkeypox, which is devastating region 7 of the country,” Central African Republic Public Health Minister Pierre Somsé said on Monday.
Mpox became a focus of worldwide concern during an international outbreak in 2022 that saw the disease spread to more than 100 countries and was endemic to parts of Central and West Africa for decades.
The World Health Organization said in November that it had confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in Congo for the first time. African scientists have warned that this could make it difficult to contain the disease.
While mpox epidemics in the West have been contained with the help of vaccines and treatments, almost none have been available 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 biggest outbreak. South Africa, which last recorded a case of mpox in 2022, also reported an outbreak this year.
In the Central African Republic, where the infection is more common in remote areas, authorities have appealed for public support to support the government’s efforts to slow the spread of the disease.
The East African Community regional bloc also issued a statement warning 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 bloc’s deputy secretary general, on Monday urged the group’s partner states to “provide the necessary information about the disease and take preventive measures”.
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