On Monday, the East African Community (EAC) urged its eight member nations to educate their populations on safeguarding against and preventing the spread of mpox (monkeypox), a contagious disease caused by the mpox virus.
This alert follows the World Health Organization’s (WHO) reports of a mpox outbreak in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), both EAC members.
The EAC, in a statement from its headquarters in Arusha, noted that Burundi had verified three mpox cases in its western region through national laboratories and the WHO.
Since 2022, the DRC has recorded over 21,000 mpox cases and more than 1,000 fatalities, as reported by the WHO.
Burundi shares borders with the DRC, Rwanda, and Tanzania, while the DRC is bordered by five EAC member states: Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Sudan.
Kenya and Somalia are also part of the EAC.
Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, the EAC deputy secretary-general responsible for infrastructure, productive, social, and political sectors, emphasized the importance of preventive measures to limit the disease’s spread.
“EAC member states must provide the necessary information on the disease and take preventive measures,” he said.
The mpox virus spreads from animals to humans and is spread between people through close contact, contaminated objects, and respiratory droplets.
Symptoms of mpox include skin rash or lesions, fever, severe headache, muscle aches, back pain, general body weakness, and swollen lymph nodes, typically lasting two to four weeks.