Monkeypox Cases in World 2024 – Country-wise Cases, Risk Factors

South Africa faced a monkeypox outbreak in July 2024, and now it has broken the border and spread around the world.  The World Health Organization has declared Mpox a public health emergency amidst its spread, let’s see in which parts of the globe Mpox has been reported.

Monkeypox Cases in World 2024

The WHO confirms the monkeypox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries this year. The new variant of Mpox (clade 1) in DRC has raised WHO concerns as the virus crossed the border fast and spread to other African nations. 

The WHO DG Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced an advisory committee to review the data and reports of the Mpox outbreak in South Africa. According to the WHO reports the committee suggests the surge of Mpox cases has the potential to spread across other African countries and crossing continents, and defined the current Mpox as PHEIC (public health Emergency of International Concern).

According to the reports, more than 17,000 cases are reported across the African continent. It has been reported that the new variant has been identified in Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda, where Mpox has never been reported in all these years. WHO has already announced that Mpox is a global public health emergency. 

Now, there have been several cases reported in other parts of the world, such as Sweden, the Philippines, etc. which have raised international concern. As per the reports, the clade 1 virus is spreading primarily due to sexual networks.

Mpox Country-wise Cases 2024

The clade 1 variant of Mpox has 96% of cases in DRC, the country is facing the bigger problem of Mpox right now. The new variant is found to be polarizing faster than its previous predecessors of Mpox-virus. The Mpox fatality rate of the 2024 outbreak in DRC has been reported to reach 3.5-4% exceeding last year’s rate.

According to reports, 10 to 13 countries of the African continent are fighting with Mpox infection and several corners of the world have also reported a few cases of Mpox, such as:

• Burundi: Burundi has confirmed around 100 cases of a new variant of Mpox found in DRC, and around 28% of the identified cases are diagnosed.  Among the patients, children under 5 years of age are infected the most in Burundi with Mpox. 

• Kenya: The subvariant of Mpox is found in other parts of the African continent, as per the WHO report, the first case of Mpox was reported on 31 July 2024 in the Taveta sub-county. As per the officials, right now the country has identified 29 suspected cases, where 23 tested negative while the other six cases are yet to be confirmed. 
• Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon, Uganda, and Rwanda: The sub variants of Clade1, Clade1b have been identified in several parts of the African continent. Uganda has confirmed two Mpox cases and other regions have also reported some cases of Mpox. 

• Sweden: Sweden has reported its first case of Mpox recently, where a person was infected with Mpox when he stayed in African areas.

• Pakistan:  Recently, Pakistan’s National Health Services has reported two cases of monkeypox and identified the virus as the subvariant clade 2b. The four cases are reported in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the first patient has recently returned from Jeddah,  Saudi Arabia, and shows Mpox symptoms. 

• Philippines: The Philippines’ health services have recently confirmed a new case of the Mpox virus since its last case in December 2023. As per the Philippines reports,  a 33-year-old man recently reported being infected by Mpox, and what’s surprising is that he has no traveling history. 

Mpox risk factor for India

Amidst the Mpox outbreak in different parts of the world, the Indian health ministry has shared its concern over the Mpox possibility in India. According to the recent news, a senior official of the Health Ministry has shared their assessment of Mpox risk in India with the current scenarios.

As per the assessment, the risk of the Mpox virus spreading from Africa to India is quite low. However, health officials said they are not taking it for granted and keeping an eye on the global Mpox outbreak & happenings to stay alert and take proper action plans in case of emergencies.

For now, the health ministry is not releasing any country-wise alert but advises people to follow the prevention of Mpox, and asks medical officers to report the cases immediately if they find any symptoms of Mpox in any patient.

Mpox Prevention Measures

With the rising global concerns over Mpox, everybody should be aware of the prevention measures to protect themselves from Mpox:

• One should avoid coming in contact with infected animals or people.
• One should avoid touching any items used by the infected person or animal.
• One should immediately get vaccinated for Mpox and check your child’s vaccination record if he/she is protected well from Mpox.
• One should practice good hygiene habits to stay protected from Mpox.

The monkeypox virus clade1, clade1B, and other sub-variants are spreading fast to other parts of the globe from the African continent. Many countries have extended their support to African countries and taken effective measures to mitigate the risk of Mpox.