Joint Continental Situation Report on the Mpox Epidemic in Africa (23 September- 03 November 2024)

1. Key Highlights in the last 28 days

Notable trends in epidemiology, surveillance and containment
• The epidemic is not yet contained as additional Member States continue to report outbreaks, driven by clade Ib.
• Burundi weekly suspected cases are plateauing, with some fluctuations but the level of transmission remains relatively high.
• Liberia had an increase of weekly new mpox cases
• In the DRC, a decrease in weekly suspected cases alongside a decrease in laboratory testing, but an increase in weekly laboratory confirmed cases have been observed in the past 6 weeks.
• Suspected cases: On average, 2,517 cases were reported weekly between week 39 – week 44 (total of 15,102, compared to an average of 2,803 cases reported between week 33 and week 38 (total of 16,815), showing a 10.2% decrease.
• Confirmed cases: On average, 569 cases were reported weekly between week 39-week 44 (total of 3,416), compared to 446 cases reported between week 33 – week 38 (total of 2,674), showing an increase of 27.7%.
• The number of deaths among suspected cases between week 39-week 44 was 225, decreasing by 27.2% when compared to 309 deaths in week 33 – week 38, which translates to a CFR of 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively.
• The number of deaths among confirmed cases between week 39-week 44 was 12 compared to 10 in week 33-week 38, which translates to a CFR of 0.4% in both periods
• Four Member States have moved from active transmission to controlled stage with no case reported over the last 6 weeks: Cameroon, Gabon, Guinea, and South Africa.
• Four Member States have reported mpox outbreaks for the first time in 2024: Ghana, Mauritius, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
• Currently, 15 Member States are experiencing active mpox transmission
• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the only country reporting both monkeypox virus Clade 1a and Clade 1b.
• Two Member States, Central African Republic (CAR) and Congo Republic are reporting only monkeypox virus Clade 1a.
• Six Member States are reporting only monkeypox virus Clade 1b: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
• Five Member States are reporting only monkeypox virus Clade II: Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco, and Nigeria.
• The clade type of monkeypox virus in the case reported in Mauritius is yet to be specified.