The 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in Ghana is a part of the larger outbreak of human mpox caused by the West African clade of the monkeypox virus. As opposed to its West African neighbours, Ghana had no endemic presence of mpox, only experiencing it during the 2022 outbreak. The first 5 cases of mpox in Ghana was detected on June 8, 2022.[1]
| 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in Ghana | |
|---|---|
| Disease | Human mpox |
| Location | Ghana |
| Arrival date | 8 June 2022[1] – ongoing (1 year, 10 months, and 19 days) |
| Date | July 27th, 2022 |
| Confirmed cases | 34[2] |
| Suspected cases‡ | 159 |
Deaths | 1[3] |
| ‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out. | |
Background
An ongoing outbreak of mpox was confirmed on May 6, 2022, beginning with a British resident who, after travelling to Nigeria (where the disease is endemic), presented symptoms consistent with mpox on April 29, 2022. The resident returned to the United Kingdom on May 4, creating the country's index case of the outbreak.[4] The origin of several of the cases of mpox in the United Kingdom is unknown. Some monitors saw community transmission taking place in the London area as of mid-May,[5] but it has been suggested that cases were already spreading in Europe in the previous months.[6]
Transmission
A large portion of those infected were believed to have not recently traveled to areas of Africa where mpox is normally found, such as Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as central and western Africa. It is believed to be transmitted by close contact with sick people, with extra caution for those individuals with lesions on their skin or genitals, along with their bedding and clothing. The CDC has also stated that individuals should avoid contact and consumption of dead animals such as rats, squirrels, monkeys and apes along with wild game or lotions derived from animals in Africa.[7]
In addition to more common symptoms, such as fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and rashes or lesions, some patients have also experienced proctitis, an inflammation of the rectum lining. CDC has also warned clinicians to not rule out mpox in patients with sexually transmitted infections since there have been reports of co-infections with syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and herpes.[8]