Children make up half of mpox cases in Guinea-Bissau as epidemic spreads

Подробности

A child is vaccinated at a health centre in Quebo, Guinea-Bissau. There is a sense of urgency in the heath sector, with schools due to reopen in September. Photograph: Vincent Tremeau/Unicef View image in fullscreen A child is vaccinated at a health centre in Quebo, Guinea-Bissau. There is a sense of urgency in the heath sector, with schools due to reopen in September. Photograph: Vincent Tremeau/Unicef Global development Children make up half of mpox cases in Guinea-Bissau as epidemic spreads West African country reports 46 suspected cases in outbreak declared in July, amid fears virus may be spreading undetected

About this content Eromo Egbejule in Cotonou Mon 24 Aug 2026 11.11 BST Last modified on Mon 24 Aug 2026 11.14 BST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google More than half of the mpox cases reported in Guinea-Bissau have been among children, local authorities have said, almost two months since the country announced an epidemic.

A national outbreak was declared on 4 July, just over a week after a 27-year-old woman became the first confirmed case of mpox in the west African country. Since then, there have been seven confirmed cases and 46 suspected cases. Half of those patients have been children, with 16 under the age of four.

In a statement on Thursday, Unicef warned that because the country’s health surveillance systems were fragile, the virus is probably spreading undetected, leaving even more children at risk.

Sandra Martins, the country’s deputy representative for Unicef, said: “This is the first time mpox cases have been reported in Guinea-Bissau, making even a small outbreak a major public health event.”