The Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has classified mpox as a “public health emergency of continental security.” Mpox, which spreads through close contact and presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, can be fatal despite most cases being mild. Since the beginning of the year, over 13,700 cases and 450 deaths related to a new variant, Clade Ib, have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The virus has also spread to Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda.
