Operational Experience of the Rospotrebnadzor Specialists during the Epidemic of Mpox in Eastern and Central Africa in 2024

The paper presents the results of work of the Russian and African experts on the study of the epidemiological and clinical features of mpox in some countries of Eastern (Republic of Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi) and Central (Republic of the Congo) Africa in the fall of 2024. An analysis of the epidemiological data obtained in the countries under consideration showed that in most cases, mpox was reported in patients of the pediatric age group. The disease was equally registered in both men and women. The clinical course of the disease was represented by mild and moderate severe forms. Severe cases of the disease have been reported only among patients with immunosuppression, untreated HIV infection or other somatic and/or infectious pathologies, as well as in children under 2 years of age. Pregnant patients also had a mild form of mpox. No deaths were reported. Monkey pox was accompanied with a simultaneous increase in cases of Varicella Zoster virus disease in the Republics of Burundi and Uganda. This circumstance often led to the registration of patients with that infection as suspected but unconfirmed cases of mpox. People with herpetic manifestations also fell into this category. Rospotrebnadzor specialists provided consulting and practical assistance to the African colleagues. Russian-made reagent kits for detecting DNA of the monkeypox virus using PCR were transferred to each country. Based on the results of the joint work, a number of relevant areas for studying the circulation of the causative agent of this infectious disease, the clinical and epidemiological features of it in the countries of East and Central Africa have been identified.