Congo announces outbreak of MPOX

The Republic of Congo has declared an epidemic of MPOX fever, a disease caused by the monkeypox virus, after 19 cases were confirmed in five regions, including the capital, Brazzaville.

A report released by Reuters on Wednesday quoted the Minister of Health of the Republic of Congo, Gilbert Mokoki, as saying that no deaths have been recorded but he has called on the public to take precautions including avoiding close contact with people suspected of having the disease, avoiding close contact with animals and avoiding touching meat without gloves

It should be noted that in 2022, after a series of consultations with international experts, the World Health Organization (WHO) finally started using the name MPOX instead of Monkeypox or Smallpox and Monkey Fever with the explanation that it was causing several things including stigma .

MPOX was discovered for the first time in humans in the neighboring country of DR Congo in 1970, according to WHO .

According to the World Health Organization, since the beginning of May 2022, cases of MPOX disease have been reported in countries where the disease is not common and continues to spread in several countries.

The first major outbreak of human-to-human transmission, which was in 2017 in Nigeria, resulted in more than 200 confirmed cases. Recently, the journal Nature has published a report saying that the disease can spread through sexual intercourse.