Evolving Epidemiology of Mpox in Africa in 2024

For decades after the identification of mpox in humans in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1970, the disease was largely confined to the rural areas of Central and West Africa and thus did not garner broad attention. On August 13, 2024, mpox was declared a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS) by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), a notice that was followed the next day by a declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization.

In this study we analyzed all mpox cases and deaths, based on clinical or laboratory diagnosis, that were reported to the Africa CDC from January 1, 2022, to October 30, 2024, to identify temporal variations, geographic distributions, and epidemiologic trends.