ISTANBUL

Ghana's Health Service on Sunday confirmed the country's first mpox-related death.

Ghana's health authority announced in an X post that 23 new cases have been confirmed, bringing the total to 257 as of July 22.

Mpox is a zoonotic viral disease that first appeared in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On August 14, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern for the second time.

This was due to an increase in mpox cases and deaths, particularly of the more severe Clade I strain, in Congo and neighboring African countries.