Guinea-Bissau Says Children Make Up Over Half of 53 Mpox Cases

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 24

Guinea-Bissau has recorded 7 confirmed and 46 suspected mpox cases since declaring an outbreak on July 4, with more than half involving children and 16 patients under age 4.
Unicef warned the virus is likely spreading undetected because the country’s health surveillance system is fragile, raising the risk to children as schools prepare to reopen in September.
Most confirmed cases are in the Bissau autonomous sector, with one in nearby Biombo, and health officials say intermittent new infections over several weeks show transmission is still ongoing.
No deaths have been reported, but health workers say the clade variants match viruses circulating in neighboring countries, keeping cross-border transmission risks high.
The outbreak is testing a health system already strained by infrastructure problems and political disruption, prompting calls to strengthen surveillance and frontline response capacity.