This is the 40th situation report for the multi-country outbreak of mpox, which provides an update on the mpox epidemiological situation in Africa as of 6 October 2024. Sixteen countries on the African continent have reported mpox cases in the last six weeks. The most affected country in 2024 continues to be the Democratic Republic of the Congo (6169 confirmed cases, 25 deaths), followed by Burundi (987 confirmed cases, no deaths) and Nigeria (94 confirmed cases, no deaths). South Kivu is the most affected province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reporting the highest number of suspected and confirmed mpox cases.

This addition provides a focus on the latest epidemiological update on the Zambia, Ghana, Central African Republic, and Nigeria. Zambia reported its first mpox case the last week. Epidemiological investigations about this case are ongoing and the viral clade is not known. Last week, Ghana also reported its first two mpox cases in 2024, since the last reporting in 2023. The detected strain is clade IIb monkeypox virus. Central African Republic and Nigeria are both considered endemic for mpox, clade I and II respectively.  

Operational updates as of 11 October 2024 are included. The WHO mpox transmission protocol has been translated to French and is available upon request. WHO granted prequalification to the MVA-BN mpox vaccine for persons 12-17 years old on 8 October.