Africa public health body declares mpox emergency

FILE PHOTO: Christian Musema, a laboratory nurse, takes a sample from a child declared a suspected case Mpox - an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus that spark-off a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever; at the the treatment centre in Munigi, following Mpox cases in Nyiragongo territory near Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo July 19, 2024. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo

(Reuters) -Africa's top public health body declared what it termed a "public health emergency of continental security" on Tuesday over an outbreak of mpox that spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries.

Mpox is transmitted through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild but it can kill.