Gabon reports first case of mpox, Burundi worst-hit in African continent

HQ Team

August 24, 2024: A 30-year-old male, who stayed for two weeks in Uganda, has tested positive for mpox in the Central African nation of Gabon, the country’s health minister said.

Adrien Mougougou said six suspected cases meeting the case definition of Mpox have been notified, isolated, treated and collected.

“Of the 6 samples taken and transmitted to the National Public Health Laboratory, one sample tested positive for mpox,” he said.

A few days after he arrived from Uganda, a nation where mpox is endemic, the 30-year-old man had fever and fatigue, followed by a generalized skin rash.

He went to a hospital on August 21 where he was isolated and taken care of due to “clinical suspicion.”

The patient is in good general condition and contact tracing is underway, the minister said in a statement.

Preventing cross-border spread

The Ministry of Health, supported by its partners, has put in place measures to strengthen preparedness and prevention against the cross-border transmission of mpox into Gabon.

The country’s epidemiological surveillance system has been out on “maximum alert, acquiring the capacity to make the diagnosis at the national level and activating its multisectoral coordination mechanism,” Professor Mougougou said in the statement.

Gabon’s case puts the number of African countries affected since the start of the year to at least 14.

The World Health Organization declared mpox as a global health emergency for the second time on August 14 as the disease spread to more parts of Africa.

Mpox or monkeypox cases have seen a 160% surge in the African region this year, according to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Burundi hardest-hit

“Since the declaration of the mpox epidemic in the DRC in April 2024, the epidemic has become large-scale, affecting several African and even European countries,” the Gabon health minister said. 

Burundi is the hardest-hit of the five countries, according to the latest report from the World Health Organization.

As of August 17, officials have reported 474 suspected cases, and, of 358 patients tested, 142 were positive for mpox, which was identified as the novel clade 1b virus circulating in eastern Congo.

Confirmed cases have been reported in 26 of Burundi’s 49 districts, with Bujumbura Nord, an urban area, accounting for roughly one-third of the cases.

Of patients, 55.6% are male, and children younger than 5 years old make up 60.3% of cases. No deaths have been reported.

One case in Kenya

According to the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy Kenya has confirmed one case, which involves mpox variant — clade 1b. 

The 42-year-old Kenyan man had recently visited Uganda and was travelling through Rwanda to Tanzania when his mpox illness was identified. 

Results are pending on another suspected case, and tests were negative for 12 others.

Uganda’s first two confirmed were identified in July, both of which involved clade 1b. The patients, women ages 37 and 22, were identified at a screening point at the Congo border.

Ivory Coast has confirmed seven cases this year from three health districts, which belong to the clade 2 strain circulating globally. Four of the patients are male, and all are older than 15 years, according to a CIDRAP statement.