Mpox Cases Spike 500 Percent in Africa in Past Year

More than 99 percent of deaths from the disease were reported in Central Africa.

A health worker attends to an mpox patient at a treatment center in Munigi, eastern Congo, on Aug. 19, 2024. Moses Sawasawa/AP Photo

Monkeypox cases in African countries have seen a massive jump, with nations in Central Africa accounting for more than eight out of 10 infections, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since January, a total of 48,093 cases of monkeypox, known as mpox, were reported from 19 member states of the African Union, with 10,372 confirmed infections and 1,048 deaths, the agency said in an Oct. 31 news briefing.