A 16-year-old student is the first case of monkeypox in Sudan

Monkeypox: Monkeypox has symptoms similar to smallpox, but is much milder.

Khartoum:

Sudan has detected its first case of monkeypox, health authorities said Monday, after the World Health Organization declared the disease a public health emergency of international concern last month.

The Ministry of Health announced that it “recorded the first confirmed case of monkeypox in a 16-year-old schoolboy in Sudan’s West Darfur state.”

Montacer Othman, who is the director of epidemic control, said there were about 38 other “suspicious cases” but all tested negative for the virus.

An investigation is underway by the federal and state health departments to determine the source of the infection, he added.

The impoverished northeast African nation is particularly vulnerable given poor public health.

According to the UN children’s agency UNICEF, only 70 percent of the population of 45 million have “access to a health facility within 30 minutes of their home” in Sudan, where 13 of 18 states experienced outbreaks of vector-borne diseases in 2021 Mr.

Last month, the WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, the biggest concern it could cause.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated by a syndicated channel.)