More than 500 deaths have now been recorded from mpox (Picture: Getty Images)
The mpox outbreaks in Africa have been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation after a new strain of the virus has been detected in more than a dozen countries.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has since spread to a number of neighbouring countries.
More than 500 deaths have now been recorded from it, leading to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to call for international help to prevent its spread.
In 2022, WHO declared mpox to be a global emergency after it spread to more than 70 countries that had not previously reported mpox, which mostly affects gay and bisexual men.
In that outbreak, fewer than 1% of people died.
But the new version of spreading from the Congo appears to have a death rate of about 3-4% and is spreading rapidly.
From the 2022 to the present day, here’s every country which has been affected by the mpox outbreak:
Total monkeypox cases map (Picture: WHO/Metro)
What are the syptoms of Mpox?
Mpox spreads from animals to humans and between people through close contact with someone who is infected – including through sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
It can cause symptoms such as fever, muscle aches and lesions across the body. If left untreated, mpox can be deadly.
Those infected are also likely to have a lack of energy in the first five days after contracting the disease.
They might also include backaches, swollen glands, shivering, exhaustion and joint pain.
The most telling symptom is a rash, which appears usually 1 to 5 days after an infected person first experiences symptoms.
The total number of worldwide deaths from Mpox (Picture: WHO/Metro.co.uk)
Timeline of Mpox Outbreak
The first documented cases of Mpox in humans were recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Nigeria experienced an outbreak of Mpox, with 118 confirmed cases reported.
The UK’s first case of Mpox was reported in a Nigerian national who had traveled to the UK.
Singapore reported its first case of Mpox in a man who had traveled from Nigeria.
An outbreak of Mpox caused by clade IIb of the virus was first identified in London, UK.
The World Health Organization declared the Mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
The WHO announced the use of the term ‘Mpox’ instead of ‘monkeypox’ in its communications.
The WHO declared the end of the 2022-2023 global Mpox outbreak.
Despite the end of the global outbreak, clade IIb Mpox cases outside of endemic regions in Africa continue to be reported at a low level.
The WHO declared a new outbreak of Mpox, a ‘public health emergency of international concern’.
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