Mpox in Africa: What we know and what is still lacking
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pntd.0013148
- PMID
- —
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W4411234188
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The authors argue Mpox has the potential to disrupt health systems and undermine progress toward the 2030 sustainable development goals, calling for financial and human resource support from countries both within and outside Africa.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The article reviews what is known about Mpox in Africa and identifies remaining evidence gaps, framing the discussion around transmission, outbreak extent, and control challenges.
Study design
It is a peer-reviewed journal article classified as a general review or commentary, summarizing existing knowledge rather than reporting primary data.
Population and setting
The focus is the African region, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo described as the epicenter and recent spread noted in Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya; sixteen African countries reported Mpox cases between January 1, 2022, and August 6, 2024.
Main findings
The article highlights endemicity in parts of Central and West Africa, possible sexual transmission, and identifies contributing factors such as immunity gaps and environmental or ecological changes. It lists fragile health systems, limited vaccine access, weak surveillance, and low public awareness as challenges to containment.
Public-health relevance
The authors argue Mpox has the potential to disrupt health systems and undermine progress toward the 2030 sustainable development goals, calling for financial and human resource support from countries both within and outside Africa.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the original full text is required for decision-grade interpretation, and any limitations of the underlying review are not available from the abstract alone.
GIDS interpretation
The article is thematically relevant to outbreak investigation, surveillance, transmission dynamics, and vaccination, and could help contextualize ongoing discussions of Mpox in Africa, though the supplied evidence does not connect it to any live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 13 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.