Addis Ababa — Total number of suspected and confirmed cases of Monkeypox in two of Sudanese refugee camps has reached 120 people as of September 28, the UN refugee agency says.

The cases are found in Tunaydbah and Um Rakuba refugees camps in the Gadareef region of eastern Sudan. Early last week Sudanese officials identified three confirmed cases of Monkeypox in Tunaydbah camp which hosts more than 24,000 refugees most of whom are Tigrayans who have fled the war in Ethiopian's Tigray region.

Two suspected cases were found in Um Rakuba camp where there are over 21,000 refugees. Sudanese authorities had been quarantining people with confirmed and suspected cases and restricted movement out of the camps since last week according to The East African.

According to UNHCR the total number of suspected and confirmed cases has reached 120 people as of Wednesday last week.

Monkeypox according to the WHO is an illness caused by the Monkeypox virus. It is a viral infection that can spread from animals to humans, from humans to other humans and from the environment to humans. Fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes, followed or accompanied by the development of a rash which may last for two to three weeks are among the common symptoms of the viral illness.

On July 23, 2022, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, declared the current monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), overriding the WHO Emergency Committee, which decided 6-9 against recommending a PHEIC. AS