ETIDIOH - NEW

Abstract Background 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. Methods 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. Results From January 1, 2022, to August 18, 2024, a total of 45,652 mpox cases were clinically diagnosed and laboratory-confirmed in 12 African countries . These ca...

Abstract Human outbreaks of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) are more common in Middle Eastern and Asian human populations , associated with clades A and B . In Africa , where clade C is dominant in camels , human cases are minimal. We reviewed 16 studies (n = 6198) published across seven African countries between 2012 and 2024 to assess human MERS-CoV cases. We also analyzed data from four cohort studies conducted in camel-keeping communities between 2018 and 2024 involving camel keepers, camel slaughterhouse workers , and hospital patients with acute respiratory illness (ARI). The analysis showed a pooled MERS-CoV prevalence of 2.4% (IQR: 0.6, 11.4) from 16 publications and 1.14% from 4 cohort studies (n = 2353). Symptomatic cases were rarely reported, with most individuals reporting camel contact, and only 12% had travel history to the Middle East. There was one travel-associated reported death , resulting in a mortality rate of 0.013%. The findings suggest a ...