By Brenda Kayo:
The number of Mpox cases in Malawi has reached 72 since the first case was recorded on April 17 this year.
According to a Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM) report, the latest case is of a 29-year-old male from Area 25, Lilongwe City, who presented himself to a health facility on August 16, 2025.
According to the report, the majority of the cases are locally transmitted, with Lilongwe leading, at 49, on the list of confirmed infections.
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Other affected districts include Blantyre with three cases, Mangochi (three cases), Salima (two cases) and one case each in Ntcheu, Likoma, Nkhata Bay, Mzimba South, and Karonga.
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“A total of 64 confirmed Mpox cases have been recorded, with 38 males and 25 females. The age range of those affected is between two and 75 years,” the report reads.
The report says 47 patients have recovered and been discharged from care.
According to the report, two cases in Lilongwe were classified as lost to follow up after the people proved difficult to trace.
Currently, 14 confirmed cases are under clinical care.
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One patient is reported to be in hospital isolation in Lilongwe while the other 13 are in their homes.
Co-chairperson for the Presidential Taskforce on Public Emergencies Wilfred Chalamira Nkhoma has said since the outbreak begun, a total of 839 contacts have been identified and are being monitored daily by healthcare workers for a period of 21 days.
“We urge the public to continue observing personal hygiene,” Chalamira Nkhoma said.
Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said her ministry, in partnership with PHIM, have deployed rapid response teams for detailed investigations and contact tracing.
She said the ministry was also enhancing surveillance activities at community facilities and points of entry, daily contacts follow-up and the dissemination of cases definitions and reporting tools.
She said the ministry was also distributing essential medicines and personal protective equipment and setting up treatment units at Kamuzu Central Hospital and Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe.
Meanwhile, health rights advocate Maziko Matemba has expressed worry the increasing number of Mpox cases in Malawi.
“This is unexpected at a time when numbers were anticipated to decrease,” he said.
However, he said, there is hope on the horizon as Malawi has received a consignment of vaccines with support from the World Health Organisation.
“The government should immediately distribute the vaccines to suspected hotspots to control the spread of the disease,” Matemba said
The first case was recorded in Lilongwe District on April 16, 2025.
No death has been reported since the outbreak
