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Weekly Bulletin on Outbreaks and other Emergencies: Week 19: 06 to 12 May 2024 (Data as reported by: 17:00; 12 May 2024)

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This Weekly Bulletin focuses on public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African region. This week’s articles cover:

Mpox in the WHO African Region

Lassa Fever in Nigeria

For each of these events, a brief description, followed by public health measures implemented and an interpretation of the situation, is provided.

A table is provided at the end of the bulletin with information on all new and ongoing public health events currently being monitored in the region, as well as recent events that have been controlled and closed.

Major issues and challenges include

A WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization meeting occurred on 11-13 March 2024. An update to the interim mpox recommendations on vaccines and immunization was discussed. SAGE reviewed the most recent data on the epidemiology of mpox and noted that while reported cases and deaths had declined in all other WHO regions, reported cases and deaths persisted in the African region, which has a distinct epidemiology and case distribution, including a reported high morbidity and mortality in children under 15 years old, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Employing the one health approach to undertake actions to facilitate cooperation and collaboration among all countries affected by mpox and other neighbouring countries, for mpox preparedness and response is paramount.