More Than 18,700 Mpox Cases Detected in Africa Since January

The African Union health agency said that “A total of 18,737 suspected or confirmed cases of mpox were reported in Africa since the beginning of the year, including 1,200 cases in one week alone” on Saturday.

The figure accounts for three strains of the virus, of which one is the new more deadly and more transmissible Clade 1b which prompted the World Health Organisation on Wednesday to declare an international health emergency the agency's highest alert.

To date, 3,101 confirmed and 15,636 suspected cases have been reported from 12 African Union member states, resulting in 541 deaths a fatality rate of 2.89 percent, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.