Uganda reports first two cases of mpox

Uganda has detected its first two cases of mpox (monkeypox), the country's health ministry announced on Saturday. This comes a day after the African Union allocated $10.4 million in funding to combat the outbreak across the continent.

The two cases were discovered in the western border district of Kasese, in the towns of Mpondwe and nearby Bwera, according to Henry Mwenda, the director general of health services. "Our findings indicate the infections did not take place in Uganda but (came) from DRC," he said, referring to the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Nine people are now under medical surveillance after coming into contact with the two confirmed cases, Mwenda added.

Neighboring countries have also reported mpox cases recently. Kenya reported one case last month, while Burundi reported three cases.

In the DRC, which borders Uganda, more than 11,000 suspected cases, including around 450 deaths, were reported as of July 20, according to the health authorities.

To address the outbreak, the African Union said on Friday that it had "urgently approved $10.4 million from Covid funds to support Africa CDC's efforts to continue to combat the Mpox outbreak across the continent." The funding will help increase monitoring, testing, data collection, case management, and access to vaccines, the 55-nation AU said.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the DRC. It has since been mainly limited to certain West and Central African nations, where humans typically contract it from infected animals, such as when eating bushmeat.

However, in May 2022, mpox infections surged worldwide, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men. This spike was driven by a new subtype, dubbed Clade II, which took over from Clade I. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern in July 2022, which was later lifted in May 2023.

More recently, since last September, a new and deadlier Clade I strain has been spreading in the DRC. This mutated variant, called Clade Ib, is now a concern for health authorities in the region.