The African Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Tuesday declared monkeypox a health emergency across the African continent.

From now on, countries should share their reports with the Africa CDC on the stage of the disease.

A modified variant of mpox has spread to at least six African countries, infecting around 15,000 people and killing more than 500 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this year alone. The variant was first reported in the DRC less than 12 months ago.

The DRC has already recorded several cases that have led to overcrowding in health units. Patients in some units exceed capacity by 4,000%. Around 70% of DRC cases occur in children under the age of 15.

Africa is the only continent with an alarming disease situation. Vaccines are available at a price of 100 dollars per unit. It is estimated that the continent will need around four billion dollars to deal with the new outbreak. (Source: Bloomberg)