Uganda Reports 10 Confirmed Deaths from Mpox, Says Health Officials
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Kampala, Jan 8 (NationPress) The total number of laboratory-confirmed mpox deaths in Uganda has now reached 10, following the registration of four fatalities over the last five days in the East African nation, as reported by health officials.
In a recent situation update released on Monday, Uganda's Ministry of Health reported that at least 156 new infections were documented in the past five days, bringing the cumulative total of confirmed cases in the country to 1,571 since the outbreak was declared six months ago.
The ministry indicated that 19 new infections were reported within the last 24 hours, with 17 cases emerging in the central district of Wakiso, one in Kampala, Uganda's capital, and another in Lira, according to reports from Xinhua news agency.
In collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, the ministry has ramped up preventive actions, such as enhanced surveillance, case management, health meetings, risk communication, community engagement, and public awareness initiatives aimed at mitigating the spread of the disease.
Mpox, an illness caused by the monkeypox virus, is a viral infection that can transmit between individuals primarily through close contact. Typical symptoms associated with mpox include a rash, fever, headaches, muscle pain, back pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes.
Last month, the WHO expressed that the epidemiological situation of mpox in Africa remains "especially concerning," with elevated case counts noted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, and Uganda.
According to the latest WHO report, Africa has recorded 13,769 confirmed cases across 20 nations as of December 15, including 60 deaths. The DRC continues to be the most affected nation, with 9,513 confirmed cases reported.
While the DRC, the outbreak's epicenter, has observed a relatively stable epidemic trend in recent weeks, the WHO cautioned that the plateauing and declining trends should be interpreted with caution due to potential reporting delays.
The current outbreak features the emergence and spread of a more dangerous but poorly understood variant, clade 1b, first identified in the DRC in September 2023. Cases of this clade 1b strain have been documented in several countries, including Sweden and Thailand.
The WHO stated, "Geographical expansion of clade 1b mpox virus (MPXV) continues to be reported outside the DRC," noting that eight nations outside of Africa have detected this strain.
