Gabon Reports First Case of Mpox

Gabon has confirmed its first case of mpox in a 30-year-old man who recently returned from Uganda, a country experiencing a surge in outbreaks. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen over 27,000 cases and 1,300 deaths since January 2023. Gabon is on 'maximum alert' and is enhancing its surveillance and testing measures following the man's hospitalization. The WHO has reported that mpox, also known as monkeypox, is spreading through human-to-human contact and has classified a more virulent strain, Clade 1b, which has a fatality rate of about 3.6%. Countries like Singapore are implementing precautionary screenings at airports due to the potential for further spread of the virus. As of now, at least 14 African nations have reported mpox cases this year, with Burundi being the hardest hit.