Ghana has confirmed its first Mpox case of 2024, as health authorities report ongoing transmission of the virus across Africa. The patient, a young boy from the Western North Region, located about 475 kilometers (295 miles) from the capital, Accra, exhibited symptoms including a rash, fever, and body aches, according to Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
The child has since been discharged and is in stable condition, though officials are closely monitoring 25 individuals who were in close contact with him. Kuma-Aboagye stated, “The suspected case of Mpox was isolated in accordance with protocols for managing the disease.”
In addition, roughly 230 other suspected cases are under investigation in Ghana, prompting heightened vigilance and the activation of the country’s public health emergency systems. Despite the outbreak, Kuma-Aboagye reassured the public in a phone interview with AFP, saying, “There is no cause for alarm.”
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) emphasized the gravity of the situation in a recent press briefing. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa CDC, reported over 860 deaths from approximately 34,297 Mpox cases across Africa since January. This week alone, Ghana recorded 38 cases.
Mpox has two subtypes: clade 1, which is more severe and endemic in the Congo Basin, and clade 2, found in parts of West Africa. While GHS has not confirmed which subtype is involved in this latest case, clade 2 is less severe and more common in West Africa. In previous years, Ghana reported eight cases in 2023 and 120 in 2022.
Other African nations, including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Ivory Coast, have also reported confirmed Mpox cases this year.
In August 2024, Africa CDC declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS), following the World Health Organization’s earlier classification of the virus as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Mpox, a viral disease related to smallpox, is transmitted from animals to humans and can also spread through close contact between people. Symptoms include fever, body aches, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash that can develop into blisters. A new strain, clade 1b, was identified in sex workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 2023.