Test tubes labelled "Monkeypox virus positive and negative" are seen in this illustration taken May 23, 2022. |Courtesy of Reuters.

Uganda’s confirmed Mpox cases have doubled in one week after statistics from the country’s ministry of health shows 22 cases as of Thursday, an uptick from 11 cases reported on September 10.

Health authorities said 50 percent of the cases were registered in the Kampala Metropolitan area, a situation blamed on overcrowding in the city.

“The cumulative total confirmed Mpox cases since the declaration of the outbreak are 22,” reads an update by the health ministry, adding that there had been no death among the cases.

The statement quoted by Daily Monitor newspaper indicates that seven patients have already recovered while 13 are still nursing the infectious virus in isolation.

Mpox is an infectious disease that can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain and low energy.

It is said to spread from person to person mainly through close contact with someone who has mpox, including members of a household.

South Sudan is on high alert after the new strain was recorded among some of its neighbors including Kenya, Uganda, DRC, and Central Africa Republic.

The country has not confirmed an Mpox case so far despite testing dozens of samples from patients who suffered similar symptoms. The patients from Western Equatoria, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and other areas were tested negative.

The country’s top public health official said the ministry is closely monitoring the viral disease as US continues to bolster South Sudan’s response through provision of Mpox testing kits.