Monkeypox in Africa in 2018

September 24, 2018

Africa, Headlines

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Two cases of monkeypox were confirmed in the UK on the 7 and 11 September 2018, in people with recent travel history to Nigeria, as you may recall. So what is the monkeypox situation in Africa year to date?

The following information from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reveals that there has been thousands of suspected and confirmed cases reported on the continent this year.

Nigeria

Since the beginning of 2018 and as of 15 September, 76 monkeypox cases, including two deaths, have been reported in 15 states (Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Oyo, Abia, Anambra, Plateau) and the FCT. Of these cases, 37 have been confirmed.

Cameroon

As of 13 June 2018, a total of 36 suspected cases have been reported from both the Northwest and Southwest Regions. At least one case was confirmed.

Central African Republic

Cumulatively, 40 cases of monkeypox with one death (CFR 2.5%) have been reported from 2 March to 22 August 2018 in the country and 13 cases have been laboratory confirmed out of 23 samples tested. No new cases have been notified in the three districts after the end of the epidemic.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

From weeks 1 to 33, 2018, there have been 2,585 suspected cases of monkeypox, including 42 deaths (CFR 1.6%). Suspected cases have been detected in 14 provinces. Sankuru Province has had a remarkably high number of suspected cases in 2018.

Liberia

Since the beginning of 2018 and as of 19 August, four suspected cases have been reported from Sinoe, Rivercess, Nimba and Maryland Counties.