BUJUMBURA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Burundi has recorded 153 positive cases of mpox since its outbreak in the East African nation on July 25, Lydwine Baradahana, minister of public health and the fight against AIDS, said.
"Until Sunday, Aug. 18, we had recorded 153 mpox cases nationwide," she told Xinhua over the phone Tuesday. "The virus spreads quickly."
The minister said that 24 out of Burundi's 49 health districts have been affected by the mpox virus, with the health district of northern Bujumbura being the most affected.
"The disease is highly contagious and very costly to the government, because an mpox patient spends at least three weeks in hospital, with hospital fees amounting to over 1 million Burundi francs (about 348 U.S. dollars)," Baradahana said.
Mpox treatment is provided free of charge, the minister said, noting that when a patient still has a lesion on the body, they cannot leave the hospital because they can contaminate other people.
Earlier in August, the Burundian government approved a six-month contingency plan for mpox response, which allows the government and its international partners like the World Health Organization to mobilize necessary resources against the disease caused by the monkeypox virus.
"The contingency response plan against mpox is costly, that is, around 42 billion Burundi francs (about 15 million dollars)", Baradahana said.
So far, no deaths related to mpox has so far been reported, she said.
Burundi announced its first confirmed mpox cases on July 25.
Mpox symptoms include an unexplained acute rash and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, acute onset of fever, headache, muscle and body aches, and low energy.
On July 16, a child with symptoms similar to those of mpox died at a health facility in Mugamba, in Bururi province, in southwestern Burundi. ■
