MOZAMBIQUE – Mpox virus cases in Mozambique have surged in the last 48 hours in parts of the country according to local authorities.

The National Directorate of Public Health released a report on Tuesday indicating 11 new cases, although no deaths yet.

Niassa is said to be the hardest-hit province in the country, recording at least five cases in just a few hours.

The province’s governor, Elina Massengele, told reporters that health officials have intensified efforts to avoid the further spread of the disease.

“We already have five cases here. We were at three, but the numbers keep on rising and there are still many people being tested with suspected cases of the disease. We have to be careful with this disease, because it’s transmissible,” Massengele said.

In response to the cases detected in the province, health officials said the country’s Health Ministry through the National Directorate of Public Health and the National Institute of Health has mobilized a technical team to support the affected patients.

“This team will monitor the treatment as well as identify and quarantine close contacts, strengthen epidemiological surveillance and promote dissemination to the population,” Massengele said.

The first cases in the previous mpox outbreak in the country were recorded in 2022 in the capital, Maputo.

Mpox is a zoonotic viral disease that was first identified in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

On Aug. 14, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern for the second time.

This was due to an increase in mpox cases and deaths, especially of the more severe Clade I variety, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring African countries.