In a report released this week, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said mpox cases have risen by 160% on the continent this year compared with 2023.
While 96% of cases have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), several other African countries this week have reported new outbreaks, including Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Central African Republic (CAR).
As of July 28, 2024, a total of 14,250 cases (2,745 confirmed; 11,505 suspected) and 456 deaths (case fatality rate [CFR]: 3.2%) have been recorded in 10 African nations, including Burundi, Cameroon, CAR, Congo, DRC, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa.
"While mpox is moderately transmissible and usually self-limiting, the case fatality rate has been much higher on the African continent compared to the rest of the world,” the Africa CDC said.
While mpox is moderately transmissible and usually self-limiting, the case fatality rate has been much higher on the African continent compared to the rest of the world.
Though safe and effective mpox vaccines and antivirals are widely available in the United States and Europe, their use is uncommon in Africa.
Clade 1b spreading in DRC
Some of the cases have been caused by what researchers are calling "clade 1b," a new mpox lineage identified in the DRC last year that is highly transmissible and has a higher CFR than clade 2, which swept across the globe in 2022 among men who have sex with men in a sexual transmission pattern. The CFR for clade 2 is less than 1%, while 1b’s CFR is roughly 6%.
There is evidence in the DRC that clade 1b is spreading both through household transmission and sexual transmission, with clade 1b and clade 2 outbreaks occurring simultaneously.
Currently the DRC outbreak stands at 13,791 cases (2,628 confirmed; 11,163 suspected) and 450 deaths (CFR: 3.3%), with cases detected in 25 of 26 provinces. Males accounted for 73% of all cases reported, and children under 15 years accounted for 68% of cases and 85% of deaths.
Earlier this week, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued a statement announcing that, for now, the risk of clade 1b spread to Europe remains low.
"ECDC is engaging with our partners in Africa in their efforts to contain this outbreak for the benefit of all those affected, prevent this new variant from spreading any further and reinforce future preparedness and response capabilities," said Pamela Rendi-Wagner, MD, MSc, director of ECDC, in a statement.
Last week, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced it would launch a clinical trial of the Bavarian Nordic mpox vaccine in the DRC to see if the vaccine protects against infection prophylactically (as a preventive measure).
