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Two cases of Mpox reported in Rwanda
August 02, 2024
AFP
Two cases of Mpox, a virus long called "monkeypox", were reported last week in Rwanda, one of whom has already been discharged from hospital, the East African country's health ministry told AFP on Thursday.
" Two cases of Mpox were confirmed last Friday," according to a statement from health authorities. " They were hospitalized and isolated while their contacts were traced and are being tested in isolation. One of the confirmed cases was discharged on Tuesday (...) and the other is still hospitalized ."
Rwanda's border country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is facing an "exponential increase" in the number of Mpox cases, according to a communication to the Council of Ministers on July 20. Two other East African countries, Burundi and Kenya, have recorded their first cases of Mpox.
In a statement released on Monday, the East African Community (EAC) secretariat urged member countries to “ educate their citizens on how to protect themselves and prevent the spread ” of Mpox. The EAC also announced that it would “ convene a meeting of health experts to deliberate on the situation ,” without giving further details.
On Wednesday, Ivory Coast announced that it had recorded two " non-fatal " cases of Mpox in the West African country.
Mpox was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC (formerly Zaire), with the spread of the Clade I subtype, which has since been mainly limited to countries in western and central Africa, with patients usually being infected by infected animals. But in May 2022, Mpox virus infections occurred worldwide, mainly affecting homosexual and bisexual men. The culprit was the Clade II subtype.
Since last September, a new, even more deadly strain of Clade has been spreading in the DRC, also transmitted through sexual contact between homosexuals. Tests have revealed that it is a new variant, the result of a mutation of Clade I, called Clade Ib. The WHO warned on July 11 of the threat to global health posed by "monkeypox". The DRC is particularly affected, with more than 11,000 cases reported, including 450 deaths.
Two cases of Mpox reported in Rwanda
August 02, 2024
AFP
Two cases of Mpox, a virus long called "monkeypox", were reported last week in Rwanda, one of whom has already been discharged from hospital, the East African country's health ministry told AFP on Thursday.
" Two cases of Mpox were confirmed last Friday," according to a statement from health authorities. " They were hospitalized and isolated while their contacts were traced and are being tested in isolation. One of the confirmed cases was discharged on Tuesday (...) and the other is still hospitalized ."
Rwanda's border country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is facing an "exponential increase" in the number of Mpox cases, according to a communication to the Council of Ministers on July 20. Two other East African countries, Burundi and Kenya, have recorded their first cases of Mpox.
In a statement released on Monday, the East African Community (EAC) secretariat urged member countries to “ educate their citizens on how to protect themselves and prevent the spread ” of Mpox. The EAC also announced that it would “ convene a meeting of health experts to deliberate on the situation ,” without giving further details.
On Wednesday, Ivory Coast announced that it had recorded two " non-fatal " cases of Mpox in the West African country.
Mpox was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC (formerly Zaire), with the spread of the Clade I subtype, which has since been mainly limited to countries in western and central Africa, with patients usually being infected by infected animals. But in May 2022, Mpox virus infections occurred worldwide, mainly affecting homosexual and bisexual men. The culprit was the Clade II subtype.
Since last September, a new, even more deadly strain of Clade has been spreading in the DRC, also transmitted through sexual contact between homosexuals. Tests have revealed that it is a new variant, the result of a mutation of Clade I, called Clade Ib. The WHO warned on July 11 of the threat to global health posed by "monkeypox". The DRC is particularly affected, with more than 11,000 cases reported, including 450 deaths.
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