Monkeypox in Africa: number of cases increased by 500%.

According to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there was an increase of more than 500% in monkeypox cases on the African continent compared to last year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern in mid-August following the spread of a new strain of the virus from Congo to neighboring countries.

According to official data, this year in 19 African countries, more than 48 thousand cases of monkeypox have been registered, including 1,048 deaths.

The majority of cases (85.7%) and deaths (99.5%) occurred in Central Africa, which was the most affected by the outbreak.

The virus is transmitted through close physical contact, including sexual contact. A new strain of the virus, known as clade Ib, has been detected in Europe, particularly in Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The monkeypox vaccine, developed by Bavarian Nordic, has been approved by the WHO as the first vaccine against this disease. It can be used for vaccinating adults, children, infants, as well as pregnant women and individuals with weakened immune systems.