By Esther Nakkazi
The first two confirmed cases of Mpox in Uganda were imported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and first identified from Kasese district.
One case involved a 37-year-old woman, who is a market vendor and hairdresser and resides in Kasese District near the Uganda-DR Congo border. The woman sought medical attention at Bwera Hospital on July 12th, 2024, after she began experiencing symptoms consistent with Mpox, which she picked up from her client from the DR Congo who had lesions in the head at her saloon. Her samples were collected on July 15th and confirmed positive by the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) for Mpox on July 24th, 2024.
The second confirmed case in Uganda was a 22-year-old woman from Bunywisa II village, Bwera sub-county who visited Bwera Hospital for antenatal care and delivery. After delivering her baby, she returned to the DR Congo.
The two women in Kasese border town marked the first two confirmed cases of mpox in Uganda announced by the Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng. By August 27th, 2024 Uganda had 4 confirmed cases of Mpox.
“Not long ago, Mpox was considered a neglected disease, but it is now emerging as a significant public health concern due to the rapid spread of transmission,” said Henry Kyobe, the incidence commander Mpox in Uganda.
Porous borders, cross-border movements and trade are fuelling the spread of Mpox to new countries that have never reported mpox before. In 2024, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Côte d’Ivoire reported their first mpox cases. Notably, Kenya confirmed its first Mpox case on July 31, 2024 at the Taita Taveta border point with Tanzania and Uganda in the Kasese District that borders DR Congo.
By 23 August Gabon had had confirmed its first case while Sierra Leone and Malawi were testing suspected cases.
