China News Service, June 17 (Xinhua) According to comprehensive foreign media reports, on the 16th local time, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that since 2022, a total of 1,597 cases of monkeypox have been reported in Africa, of which 66 have died.
Data map: Electron microscope images provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show mature monkeypox virus (left) and immature virions (right).
On the same day, the WHO regional director for Africa said that WHO is procuring thousands of monkeypox test kits for Africa, adding that the continent should be ready to be vaccinated if needed.
Monkeypox virus, named after it was first discovered in monkeys in 1958, can spread from animals to humans and from humans to humans through close contact.
Previously, monkeypox was mainly endemic in western and central Africa, but in recent months, monkeypox outbreaks have occurred in many countries outside Africa, and many infected people have no travel history to monkeypox-endemic areas.