Monkeypox patient presenting rash symptoms - Courtesy

Uganda’s Ministry of Health announced on Friday that two people tested positive for the Monkeypox virus in Kasese District near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo.

The heath authorities said the two cases were imported from eastern DRC as the vast tropical country continues to record thousands of mpox cases since January 2023.

“This was confirmed after samples were taken from two individuals; a 37-year-old female from Mpwondwe Lhubiriha Town Council, who is married to a Congolese, and a 25-year-old female from Bunyiswe II village,” reads the statement published by Daily Monitor newspaper.

Both patients were reportedly presented skin rash, swollen limp nodes and general malaise signs and symptoms which are consistent with Mpox.

“The samples were tested and confirmed by the Uganda Viral Research Institute (UVRI) on July 24 2024. The imported cases were detected among six suspected cases at the Bwera border.”

The incident in Uganda occur a few days after Kenya confirmed its first Mpox case at a Taita Taveta border point with Tanzania from an individual who was travelling from Uganda to Rwanda through the country.

Kenya had previously issued a travel advisory to all counties and border entry points to prevent spillover from the recent outbreaks of Mpox in the DR Congo – which medical aid group MSF said has recorded more than 12,300 suspected cases and 479 deaths as of June.

Central African Republic, which borders South Sudan, is also one of the latest countries in the region to declare an outbreak of the mpox virus, with infections spreading to the capital, Bangui, after being restricted to rural areas, BBC reported last month.

In June 2024, South Sudan’s Western Equatoria Ministry of Health and partners deployed a surveillance team to the border with DR Congo following the reported outbreak of Mpox disease there.

Dr. Rose Obede, the state health ministry’s director general, said surveillance officers have been posted at the border in response to the mpox outbreak reported in May this year.

According to the World Health Organization, mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus.

The Common symptoms of mpox are a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last 2–4 weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.

Mpox can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with someone infectious, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals.

Anyone can get mpox and it spreads from contact with infected:

• persons, through touch, kissing, or sex
• animals, when hunting, skinning, or cooking them
• materials, such as contaminated sheets, clothes or needles
• pregnant persons, who may pass the virus on to their unborn baby.

If you have mpox:

• Tell anyone you have been close to recently
• Stay at home until all scabs fall off and a new layer of skin forms
• Cover lesions and wear a well-fitting mask when around other people
• Avoid physical contact.