Health authorities in Congo have announced 9 deaths due to monkeypox, with 465 people infected, marking the highest rate of infections and fatalities in the world since the outbreak began. Health authorities in Nigeria reported the country's first death from monkeypox, along with 21 new cases in the past 24 hours. A death was also recorded in Nigeria, as reported by the American newspaper "The Washington Post."
Monkeypox is typically a mild viral infection primarily found in African countries such as Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria. However, it has raised global concern after over 200 suspected and confirmed viral cases were identified in at least 19 countries since early May 2022, mostly in Europe, with no reported fatalities so far.
Monkeypox causes symptoms including fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, back pain, and a rash consisting of lesions that evolve into blisters. Although the disease is usually mild, it can be serious. An infected person remains contagious until the last scab from the blisters falls off naturally, which can take up to three weeks. Therefore, those infected are advised to isolate from others, and close contacts are also quarantined as a precautionary measure.
