Almost 1,500 people died of monkeypox in Africa in just over two years.
The African Union Health Authority (Africa CDC) declared a health emergency on Tuesday due to the rapidly spreading monkeypox (mpox) epidemic.
Monkeypox has spread to several African countries, especially the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where smallpox was first found in humans in 1970.
– Mpox has crossed borders and affected thousands across our continent. Families have been torn apart: pain and suffering have touched every corner of our continent, argued the head of the Africa CDC Jean Kaseya.
According to CDC statistics, nearly 38,500 people in Africa have fallen ill with monkeypox since January 2022. Nearly 1,500 people have died from the disease. The purpose of declaring a state of emergency is to make it easier to get money and other resources to fight the disease. Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, severe headache, rash and swollen lymph nodes.