Morocco Confirms First Monkeypox Case

The Moroccan government says it has confirm the first monkeypox case.

Morocco becomes the first non-endemic country in Africa to do so.

According to the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC the infected person has a history of travel to France and is in isolation,

At the end of May, Africa CDC said those who had tested positive for the disease on the continent had not been known to have travelled abroad before becoming infected.

The link to travel to France requires more thorough investigation and sequencing in the continent.

Acting Head of the Africa CDC, Dr. Ahmed Ogwell, says “even though monkeypox was spreading internationally, any intervention, and any planning to contain the virus, should begin in Africa.”

“The place to start vaccination should be Africa and nowhere else,” he said.

BBC/Christopher Ojilere