Ethiopia has confirmed its first cases of mpox, involving a newborn and the child’s mother in the southern border town of Moyale. Health officials say the virus may have entered from a neighboring country, with contact tracing and containment efforts now underway.
Ethiopia has confirmed its first-ever cases of mpox, involving a 21-day-old infant and the child’s mother, according to a joint announcement from the Ministry of Health and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute on Sunday.
The cases were reported in Moyale, a key trade and transport town on Ethiopia’s southern border with Kenya. Authorities believe the virus may have been brought in from a neighboring country, as the infant’s father had recently traveled across the border.
Health officials say the source of the infection is still under investigation, but preliminary evidence points to cross-border transmission. Several family members who came into contact with the infected individuals have been placed in quarantine as a precaution.
Public health teams have been deployed to Moyale and surrounding areas to trace contacts and contain the spread, with a focus on border communities.
Although these are the country’s first confirmed infections, Ethiopia has maintained heightened surveillance since 2022, when the World Health Organization declared mpox a global health emergency. Kenya and Somalia, which border the affected region, have both reported cases in recent years.
