The World Health Organization is hoping an international vaccination campaign will stop outbreaks of mpox in Africa within six months.
The UN agency’s first shipment of vaccines is due to arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the next few days.
A new type of mpox called ‘clade 1b’ appears to be deadlier and able to spread from person to person more easily than previous forms. Mortality rates are as high as 10 percent of infections.
Clade 1b mpox was first detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in central Africa, where it started spreading in September 2023.
Infections have since been reported in Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Rwanda. New cases in Uganda and Kenya in early August 2024 were also linked to clade 1b.
DRC has been hit particularly hard by cases of clade 1b mpox cases. More than 13,000 people have been infected.
The vast majority of deaths (85 percent) were in children under 15 years of age — they accounted for 68 percent of cases. The disease is more common among males, who accounted for 73 percent of all cases reported.
Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1
For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/
Follow DW on social media:
►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/
►Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews
►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews
►Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/dwnews_hangout
Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/dwdeutsch
#mpox #africa #virus
Add comment