WHO says Africa accounts for 75% of mpox cases as global risk remains moderate

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that Africa accounts for 75% of confirmed mpox cases globally in July, with the outbreak's public health risk remaining moderate. In its 69th situation report, the WHO assessed the ongoing multi-country mpox outbreak and noted continued transmission across several regions. With 32 countries across four regions reporting 1,370 confirmed cases and seven deaths in July, the global case fatality ratio stands at 0.5%.

Eleven African countries experienced active transmission during this period, accounting for 1,153 confirmed cases and all seven deaths. WHO highlighted that transmission mainly occurred through sexual contact, household spread, and community outbreaks, with all known clades of the monkeypox virus circulating. The organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on August 14, 2024, due to a surge in cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the spread of a new clade to neighboring African countries.

Brief written by urgent.news from Nairametrics's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.