Addis Ababa, Jan 31 The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned that the worsening humanitarian situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) hampers the fight against the spread of monkeypox in the region.
The number of monkeypox cases reported in Africa this year has surpassed 9,959, as the death toll reached 85, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told an online media briefing.
This week alone, eight African countries reported 3,300 new cases, including 914 confirmed ones, according to data from the African Union's specialised healthcare agency.
The DRC, the epicentre of the ongoing monkeypox outbreak in Africa, has recorded 2,707 cases over the past week, of which 516 were confirmed, along with 38 deaths, Kaseya said.
He warned that the worsening humanitarian crisis in the eastern DRC and the city of Goma, where fighting between the DRC army and M23 rebels has intensified, is stalling efforts against monkeypox and other disease outbreaks.
"The humanitarian situation in the DRC is affecting not only monkeypox (response efforts), but also a number of other outbreaks," Kaseya said. "Health infrastructure has been broken, and access to basic services like water and sanitation doesn't really exist."
"This is also an area where, in addition to monkeypox, we have cholera, measles, and other disease outbreaks," he said.
He warned that the large-scale displacement of people could trigger the further spread of the monkeypox virus throughout the DRC and the region.
"We are talking about people who are leaving Goma and could spread the disease to other regions of the DRC and neighboring countries. Guns cannot kill us all, but outbreaks can kill all of us," Kaseya said.
According to the Africa CDC, among the 21 countries affected by the ongoing monkeypox outbreak since the start of last year, 12 are experiencing active transmission of the virus, Xinhua news agency reported.
In mid-August last year, the Africa CDC declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of continental security. Shortly afterward, the World Health Organization designated the viral disease as a public health emergency of international concern, the second time in two years that it activated its highest level of global alert for monkeypox.
Monkeypox was first detected in laboratory monkeys in 1958. It is a rare viral disease typically transmitted through body fluids, respiratory droplets, and other contaminated materials. The infection often causes fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
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