AFP: Mpox virus reported in Uganda for first time

Uganda has detected its first two cases of mpox (monkeypox), the country’s health ministry said, AFP reports.

The cases were discovered in the western border district of Kasese, in the towns of Mpondwe and nearby Bwera, the director general of health services Henry Mwenda told AFP.

"Our findings indicate the infections did not take place in Uganda but [came] from DRC," he said of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Nine people were under medical surveillance following contact with the two confirmed cases, he added.

Kenya and Burundi report one and three cases of mpox respectively last month.

On July 20, the DRC reported more than 11,000 suspected cases, including around 450 deaths.

The African Union said it had "urgently approved $10.4 million from Covid funds to support Africa CDC's efforts to continue to combat the Mpox outbreak across the continent".

This funding will help increase monitoring, laboratory testing, regional and national data collection, case and infection management, and access to vaccines, it added.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the DRC.

It has since been mainly limited to certain West and Central African nations.

But in May 2022, mpox infections surged worldwide.

That spike was driven by a new subtype, dubbed Clade II, which took over from Clade I.

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