The small West African country of Guinea-Bissau is facing its first-ever mpox outbreak, with children accounting for half of the 46 suspected cases, reports africanews.
The United Nations children’s agency, Unicef, said that 23 of the cases are children under 15, of whom 16 are under four. No fatalities have yet been reported.
"This is the first time mpox cases have been reported in Guinea-Bissau, making even a small outbreak a major public health event," said Unicef’s regional deputy representative, Sandra Martins.
The agency said while mpox rarely leads to death, newborns and children are more at risk of developing severe cases of the disease, warning that “critical gaps” in surveillance strategies – especially in identifying contacts, testing samples, and tracing how the virus spread – may complicate efforts to address the outbreak.
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