Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has declared a public health emergency prompted by the spread of a deadly and highly infectious strain of mpox across the continent. The move has been possibly taken to stop the monkeypox virus from evolving into an epidemic that spreads across the continent and beyond.
“I declare with a heavy heart but with an unyielding commitment to our people, to our African citizens, we declare mpox as public health emergency of continental security,” Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said during an online media briefing on Tuesday.