Addis Ababa, March 8 || The death toll from Africa's ongoing mpox outbreak has reached 260 since 2025, with total cases surpassing 24,200, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
During an online media briefing on Thursday evening, Ngashi Ngongo, chief of staff and head of the Executive Office at Africa CDC, said that the African continent has reported 24,272 mpox cases since the start of the year. Of these, 6,034 were confirmed and about 260 related deaths were recorded.
Data from the African Union's specialised healthcare agency show that in the past week alone, 11 African countries reported 2,610 new cases, including 664 confirmed ones and 45 new related deaths.
Ngongo said that among the 22 African countries affected by the ongoing mpox outbreak, 15 countries are currently experiencing active transmission of the virus, while seven countries are in a controlled phase.
Meanwhile, the Africa CDC has expressed concern about the challenges in addressing the mpox outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where clashes have intensified between the DRC army and the March 23 Movement rebels in recent weeks, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to Africa CDC, the DRC, currently the epicentre of the mpox outbreak in Africa, reported 1,918 cases in the past week, including 202 confirmed cases and 44 new related fatalities.
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