This Weekly Bulletin focuses on public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African region. This week’s articles cover:
Measles in South Sudan
Monkey pox in the WHO African Region
COVID-19 across the WHO African region
For each of these events, a brief description, followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation is provided.
A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as recent events that have been controlled and closed.
Major issues and challenges include:
South Sudan has declared a second national measles outbreak this year after another flare up of cases in recent weeks. Low vaccination coverage has been considered the main plausible factor for measles outbreaks which has not been sustained or built over time and must remain high for adequate protection. Other compounded problems such as socio-political and nutritional insecurity also increase the risk for measles outbreaks. The latter issues further contribute to the problem of access to healthcare especially for vulnerable populations which include children and internally displaced persons.
The African continent is still struggling with the ongoing Mpox outbreak, although the number of cases has decreased compared to the previous week. All reported cases in the past week were from Nigeria and Liberia. In order to gain a better understanding of the causes, types, and characterization of Mpox in Africa, further research is needed.
Source: World Health Organization