Ghana's health service has announced the country's first case of mpox this year, without disclosing the specific variant of the highly contagious virus – which continues to spread across Africa.
The patient is a young male from the Western North Region, about 475 kilometres from the capital, Accra. He is experiencing symptoms typical of mpox, including fever, rash and body pains.
Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the director-general of Ghana Health Service (GHS), confirmed that the man has been isolated according to health protocols.
GHS has identified 25 contacts of the patient, who are currently being monitored. Additionally, there are around 230 other suspected cases under investigation in the country.
Ghana has previously recorded cases of mpox in 2022 and 2023.
Health officials are testing to find out if the clade Ib form of mpox virus, which is of global concern, is responsible for the current case.
This new strain spreads more easily through close contact, including sexual interactions, compared to the clade I variant, which is typically found in parts of West and Central Africa.
WHO declares second mpox international health emergency
Spreading virus
The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years in August, following an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to neighbouring countries.
Nearly 30,000 suspected mpox cases have been reported in Africa so far this year, most of them in central but also in West Africa, with a few cases reported in Europe and Asia.
Nigeria, South Africa, and Cote d'Ivoire have recorded multiple confirmed cases this year.
More than 800 people have already died this year of suspected mpox.
A total of 2,082 confirmed cases were reported across the world in August alone, the highest since November 2022.
The Gavi vaccine alliance has reached an agreement with Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic to obtain 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine for African countries dealing with an outbreak.
The DRC received its first 200,000 doses of vaccine in September.
(with newswires)
