The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says the continent is moving closer to meeting the criteria for downgrading mpox as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security.
The agency said the move has become feasible as more countries continue to report zero cases for extended periods.
Prof. Yap Boum, Incident Manager for Health Emergencies at Africa CDC, disclosed this on Thursday during the continent’s virtual weekly press briefing.
Boum said seven countries have now reached the “end phase”, while Sierra Leone is expected to enter the “control phase” on Dec. 16 after maintaining more than 42 days without a confirmed case.
According to him, this aligns with the standard outbreak-control threshold of two incubation periods.
He noted that Africa CDC uses clear benchmarks before declaring an outbreak over at both the national and continental levels.
“At the continental level, we expect more than 45 days with no cases before a country is classified as being in the control phase.
“Sierra Leone will join that group on Dec. 16. Once enough countries maintain this status, we can consider downgrading mpox at the continental level,” he said.
Boum explained that Africa CDC applies five major criteria in determining whether mpox can be downgraded. These include the absence of sustained human-to-human transmission, a decline in regional risk, and the ability of countries to detect and respond effectively to new cases.
He noted that recent population movements from the Uvira region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into Burundi had raised concerns about possible disease spread. However, he said the influx was not expected to significantly affect the mpox situation.
“Movement of people always introduces some risk, but Burundi has demonstrated strong surveillance and response capacity.
“They have already shown that they can detect cases, isolate them, and manage outbreaks effectively,” he said.
He added that cross-border coordination remained crucial—especially for contact tracing and harmonizing surveillance efforts among the DRC, Burundi, South Sudan and other neighboring countries.
“Africa CDC, in partnership with the World Bank, is supporting countries to strengthen bilateral agreements and operational procedures that enable joint outbreak investigation, information-sharing and case management.
“If there is no memorandum of understanding between countries, contact tracing across borders becomes impossible.
“We are accelerating these MOUs and regional meetings to improve harmonization of surveillance and response,” he said.
Boum noted that although the WHO lifted the global mpox emergency in September, Africa CDC must base its own decision on African epidemiological data, country readiness and regional risks.
He expressed confidence that if current trends persist, mpox could soon transition out of emergency status on the continent.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that mpox (formerly called monkeypox) is caused by the mpox virus, a member of the orthopoxvirus family and closely related to the smallpox virus.
Symptoms include fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes and a rash similar to smallpox, though typically milder. Mpox spreads through close contact with infected people, animals or contaminated materials.
In recent years, outbreaks have increased globally, partly due to declining population immunity following the end of routine smallpox vaccination.
