The number of smallpox cases on the African continent has increased by 500% compared to last year

Smallpox cases continue to spread across the African continent, up more than 500% from last year, data from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) showed on Thursday.

The World Health Organization declared mpox a global health emergency in mid-August after the new strain began spreading from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring countries.

“The situation is not yet under control, overall we are still on an upward trend,” Ngashi Ngongo of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told a briefing.

Nineteen African countries have reported more than 48,000 suspected smallpox cases this year, including 1,048 deaths, according to the public health agency.

Central Africa, hardest hit by the outbreak, accounts for 85.7% of cases and 99.5% of deaths on the continent.

The virus can be transmitted through close physical contact, including sexual contact.

Its new strain, known as clade Ib, is also spreading in Europe and has been discovered in Sweden, Germany and the UK.

“We need to continue to mobilize political participation as well as mobilize financial support, which is critical to bring the current outbreak under control,” Ngongo said.

“We don’t want this mpox, especially clade 1b, to become another sexually transmitted pandemic that would be much more severe than COVID-19.”