By Bosco Bush
United States government has donated at least 96 Monkeypox reagent kits to the South Sudan National Public Health Laboratory to facilitate effective testing of suspected Mpox cases in the country.
In a statement, the U.S. Embassy announced that the kits are being supplied by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in preparation for a potential Mpox outbreak in South Sudan.
The Embassy will continue to offer technical assistance in responding to the outbreak, according to the statement.
They called on the national unity government to prioritize revenues for the health sector.
“The United States will continue its support of live-saving medical care for the South Sudanese people. At the same time, we call on the transitional government to increase its use of public revenue to support the health sector,” partially read the statement.
Suspected infection cases of Mpox disease have been reported in Eastern Equatoria, Western Equatoria and Northern Bahr el Ghazal.
Last month, the Ministry of Health announced that there are no confirmed cases of Mpox after laboratory investigations of 17 out of 25 samples turned negative.
Mpox is an infectious viral disease that can occur in humans and other animals with symptoms including rash, fever, exhaustion, swollen lymph nodes, and shore throat.
Mpox can spread from person to person through close physical contact, including sex. People can also become infected after contact with infected animals.
South Sudan is on high alert after the new strain was recorded among its neighboring countries; DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Central African Republic.
As of August 25, 2024, World Health Organization (WHO) reported over 20,000 Mpox cases due to MPXV clade I and clade II have been reported from 13 African Union Member States, including over 3,000 confirmed cases and over 500 deaths (CFR 2.9%) according to the Africa CDC Epidemic Intelligence Report issued on 25 August 2024 and the WHO AFRO weekly report of 23 August