The largest number of infected people in Africa are reported in countries in the center and east of the continent, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the epicenter of the outbreak, according to the report.

WHO’s Emergency Committee has declared the expansion of the disease, also known as monkeypox, as a public health emergency that concerns the entire planet.

The WHO survey on Mpox, the second since last August, has registered the growing number and sustained geographic expansion of cases, operational health challenges and reiterate the need to “mount a sustained and cohesive response in all countries and member states.”

To date, up to 50,000 people have been vaccinated against the disease, which can be fatal, as demonstrated by the nearly 1,050 deaths and 46,000 infections recognized on the continent since the first case was reported.

Mpox is a viral zoonosis caused by the monkeypox virus of the Orthopoxvirus genus, which includes the variola virus (which causes smallpox) and is characterized by a rash or skin lesions that are usually concentrated on the face, palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

ied/ro/msl