Kenya and the Central African Republic have reported new mpox outbreaks as health officials across Africa scramble to control the disease's spread in a region with limited vaccine availability.
On Wednesday, Nairobi confirmed its outbreak after detecting a case in a passenger traveling from Uganda to Rwanda at a border crossing in southern Kenya. The Central African Republic announced its outbreak on Monday, noting that it has reached the capital, Bangui.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus that originates in wild animals and occasionally infects humans, who can then spread it to others.
"We are very concerned about the cases of mpox, which is ravaging region 7 of the country,” Central African Republic Public Health Minister Pierre Somse said Monday.
Mpox gained worldwide attention during an international outbreak in 2022 that saw the disease spread to over 100 countries and has been endemic in parts of Central and West Africa for decades.
The World Health Organization said in November it had confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in Congo for the first time. African scientists warned this could make the disease difficult to contain.
Although the mpox epidemics in the West were contained with the help of vaccines and treatments, these resources have been scarce in parts of Africa, where several countries have reported outbreaks in recent months.
The worst hit 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 an mpox case in 2022, has also reported an outbreak this year.
In the Central African Republic, where the infection is most common in remote areas, authorities have called for public support to assist government efforts to slow the spread of the disease.
The East African Community regional bloc has 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 bloc's deputy secretary general, on Monday urged the group’s partner states to "provide necessary information about the disease and take preventive measures.”
