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The number of MPOX cases and deaths has increased in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a dangerous new variant of the disease, also known as monkeypox, has emerged, DRC Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said on Monday.
Kamba said that so far this year, local MPOX case counts have increased from 16,000 cases and 548 deaths to 16,700 diagnoses and “a little over 570 deaths” in a matter of days.
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“We are talking about a continental emergency,” the official declared at a press conference. “I hope that next week we will see the vaccines arriving,” he added.
this World Health Organization (WHO) MPOX was declared an international public health emergency on Wednesday due to an increase in cases of a new, more deadly variant in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other neighboring countries, and affected regions were urged to implement vaccination programs on Monday.
An unnamed health source explained to AFP that the United States has pledged 50,000 doses to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Japan agreed on Wednesday to provide 3.5 million doses to the Central African country “only for children.”
“The vaccine is the solution to our problems,” the Congolese minister said. “Our strategic vaccination plan is ready. We are just waiting for the vaccine to arrive,” he declared.
MPOX cases have been reported in all 26 provinces of the country with approximately 100 million inhabitants.
Although Monkeypox It was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), where a new, more contagious and dangerous strain, 1b, emerged last year.
The Congolese minister said that in his country, mpox is affecting “younger and younger people”, with many children under the age of 15 being affected.
The African Union’s health agency said Saturday that 18,737 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox have been detected in Africa this year, including 1,200 in just one week.
Last week, Sweden reported its first case outside of Africa.
Monkeypox is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans, but it can also be spread through close physical contact with someone infected with the virus.
The disease causes fever, muscle aches and skin lesions.
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