Morocco reports case of Mpox

The man is in a stable condition and his close contacts are not exhibiting symptoms

A patient with a severe form of the mpox is treated at the Kavumu Hospital, 30km north of Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. AFP

Morocco confirmed a case of Mpox in a man in Marrakesh on Thursday, the Health Ministry said.

The World Health Organisation declared the recent outbreak of the disease a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant was identified.

The ministry did not offer details on the case and did not specify which variant of the viral infection was recorded.

He is in a stable condition and his contacts did not exhibit symptoms.

Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever, chills and body aches. People with more serious cases can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.

The number of cases has been rising rapidly, WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last month, but until recently there have been relatively few deaths.

Dr Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said 107 new deaths and 3,160 new cases had been recorded in the past week.

The increased number of cases comes a month after WHO declared outbreaks in 12 African countries as a global emergency.

The estimated budget for the six-month plan by Africa CDC and WHO is about $600 million, with 55 per cent allocated to the response to mpox in 14 affected nations and boosting readiness in 15 others. Africa is in the process of receiving vaccines.

About 250,000 doses have already been delivered to Congo, but these are just a fraction of the 3 million doses authorities have said are needed to end the outbreak there, the epicentre of the global health emergency.

EU countries pledged to donate more than 500,000 doses, but the schedule around their delivery remains unclear.

Mpox cases have also been reported in Sweden and Pakistan.