Malawi has recorded three new cases of Mpox, bringing the number of recorded infections to 15 since the outbreak was declared on April 16 2025.
The new cases, according to the daily update released on Thursday by the Public Health Institute of Malawi (Phim), have pushed the number of affected districts to three; all of which have reported cases within the past 42 days.
Malawi is one of 16 countries in Africa reporting Mpox outbreaks as health officials battle with vaccine shortages as well as limited testing and hospital capacity.
Recently, the Phim suggested that a majority of the patients were aged between 17 and 41.
“Investigations are underway to establish the possible source of infection and trace contacts,” the institute said in a statement last week.
Meanwhile, a report this week in the UK’s The Guardian newspaper quoted Lilongwe district health office spokesperson, Richard Mvula, as saying: “A commonality about these cases is that some were immune-compromised.”
According to the report, patients who were on antiretroviral therapy (ART) had been forced to stop taking their medication because of drug shortages.
HIV can worsen the risk and severity of Mpox, while effective HIV treatment can help manage the risk and people living with HIV, especially those with uncontrolled viral loads, may experience a more severe form of Mpox.
The surge in Mpox cases follows US government aid cuts to healthcare, including HIV programmes that have badly hit the country and raised fears of an escalation of infectious diseases.
However, despite the continued rise in infections, no deaths have been reported so far, maintaining the Mpox case fatality rate at 0.0 percent.
According to the update, only one patient is currently admitted to a treatment facility, while no new discharges have been registered in the latest notice.
Reacting to the surge in cases, Malawi Health Equity Network (Mhen) executive director, George Jobe, described the situation as worrisome and stressed the need for all stakeholders to engage an extra gear to curb the viral infection.
“For instance, we should analyse if there are similarities in the people who are testing positive, such as economic status, social status, urban versus rural among other parameters. This will help to determine if the surge is as a result of limited knowledge among the public or other things,” Jobe said.
He also highlighted the need to publicise the numbers of cases in the media so that people are reminded about the problem amidst us.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has reiterated its call for vigilance and early reporting of symptoms as part of efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
