Lilongwe, Oct 7 (IANS) Malawi continues to register more cases of mpox disease, with the capital, Lilongwe, recording the highest number, according to the latest update on the outbreak from the Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM).

Since the first case was recorded on April 17, the total number of cases in the country has now amounted to 128, with Lilongwe having recorded 104 cases cumulatively. Only one mpox-related death has been reported so far.

On Monday, the PHIM announced that two new cases had been diagnosed and confirmed at two separate clinics in Lilongwe: one involving a nine-year-old female and one involving an 11-year-old female.

All the confirmed cases have no history of travelling outside Malawi, according to the update.

Ten of the country’s districts have recorded mpox cases, and health authorities have continued to fight the outbreak through various interventions, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is a viral infectious disease that spreads through close contact. Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, muscle aches, skin rash, and back pain.

Mpox spreads from person to person mainly through close contact with someone who has mpox, including members of a household. Close contact includes skin-to-skin and mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin contact, and it can also include being face-to-face with someone who has mpox (such as talking or breathing close to one another, which can generate infectious respiratory particles).

People with multiple sexual partners are at higher risk of acquiring mpox.

People can also contract mpox from contaminated objects such as clothing or linen, through needle injuries in health care, or in community settings such as tattoo parlours.

During pregnancy or birth, the virus may be passed to the baby. Contracting mpox during pregnancy can be dangerous for the fetus or newborn infant and can lead to loss of the pregnancy, stillbirth, death of the newborn, or complications for the parent.

Animal-to-human transmission of mpox occurs from infected animals to humans from bites or scratches, or during activities such as hunting, skinning, trapping, cooking, playing with carcasses or eating animals. The animal reservoir of the monkeypox virus remains unknown, and further studies are underway.

More research is needed on how mpox spreads during outbreaks in different settings and under different conditions.

–IANS

int/jk/vd