Monkeypox during COVID-19 era in Africa: Current challenges and recommendations

Osaretin Christabel Okonji; Emeka Francis Okonji

doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104381

Monkeypox during COVID-19 era in Africa: Current challenges and recommendations

Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2022 Sep:81:104381. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104381. Epub 2022 Aug 18.

Authors

Osaretin Christabel Okonji¹, Emeka Francis Okonji²

Affiliations

¹ School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Natural Science, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
² School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.

Abstract

In May 2022, monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak was confirmed amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in many parts of the world including Africa. This is the largest outbreak since monkeypox (MPX) was first detected in humans in 1970. The MPX outbreak in Africa is an added burden to the fragile healthcare systems that are already overburdened with several reoccurring epidemics. Although several efforts are in place to effectively contained the outbreak. Several measures such as improved surveillance and diagnostic are necessary to contain the spread of the disease in Africa. This commentary highlights the challenges with the MPX outbreak in Africa and discusses the measures that can be taken to limit the spread of the disease, particularly in high-risk countries.

Keywords: Africa; COVID-19; Monkeypox; Outbreak; Public health.